Short Shorts for Hot Chocolate
by Sissy
Summary: Series of "drabbles" of whatever comes to my mind. Chapter 36: She had wanted to send a message. /mkan/various pairings depending on chapter/
1. Scars and all

**Title:** Scars and all  
**By:** Sissy

**Pairings:** mkao  
**Warnings:** M!chapter. Based after vol6, after Mikado assumes charge of the Blue Squares. I haven't read vol7 or 8 so I don't know how their relationships work aside from what I've seen in pixiv. Also, some S!Mikado.

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Kuronuma Aoba stared at his scar with admiration. He began to caress softly it as if it were a dearly beloved lover. Lunch hour wasn't over yet but he had finished eating already and was simply now waiting with anticipation for school to end. But still, he was bored so he stretched his arms out the window and stared at the scar on his right hand.

"Ache? (Does it hurt?)" Orihara Kururi's voice called out to him with a questioning tone.

"Not anymore. I just like looking at it." Aoba replied quickly with a soft smile. He liked thinking about how he got the scar in the first place.

"Curious. (Is it important?)" Kururi took a seat next to him this time and looked curiously at him. It was as if she was waiting to hear the story of when he obtained the scar.

"Yeah. It was made by someone you could say I admire." Aoba sat back and looked at her now, almost as if he was having a pleasantly normal conversation with her. To anyone else, it would seem just slightly weird because of Kururi's small voice.

"Who? (Is it someone I know?)" Kururi tilted her head and gave him a very small smile. She was enjoying hearing about this.

"I'm sure you've heard of him at some point." Aoba grinned mischievously and heard the door of his classroom open. He felt his name being called and turning to the door, he smirked to himself. "That's him. Gotta go."

"Bye. (Be careful.)" Kururi waved him good-bye as Aoba joined another male at the door.

"That was Orihara Kururi-chan, right?" Ryugamine Mikado asked with a smile as both males walked along the hallway, away from Aoba's classroom.

"Yeah. She and her sister often talk to me." Aoba replied and felt his hand being grabbed. "Sempai?"

"You shouldn't take out the bandages. The burn on your hand still hurts, doesn't it?" Taking out a small roll of bandages from his pocket, Mikado wrapped the burn on Aoba's left hand. He had completely forgotten about the new injury. And if not for the fact that it was the opposite hand, Aoba would've thought that Mikado was trying to cover his beloved scar.

"Only a little. I've been hurt worse." Aoba replied and brought up his right hand to his mouth. "This beauty here hurt quite a lot, you know." He seductively kissed the scar and felt his left hand being slapped away. Curiously, he glanced up at Mikado and saw his cold gaze for only a split second.

"Let's go get some air. There's still some time before classes resume. Besides, I'm a little bored. Sonohara-san is out with a cold today." Mikado gave Aoba his most charismatic smile and began walking away from Aoba. It was the normal Mikado again.

Giving only a grin to his sempai's back, Aoba followed suit. He was actually surprised that Mikado had even looked for him, especially since both had already finished lunch and rarely even talked at school. He silently wished Mikado had looked for him earlier, as that way they could've spent some more time together. Because even though he enjoyed silently sitting with Mikado, Aoba had wished the older teen would have spoken more to him during that time.

Hours later, Aoba and Mikado had met up with the rest of the Blue Squares after each had changed into street clothes. Mikado spent almost an hour going through information collected by the Squares and gave orders based on teams he formed. Aoba sat in a corner with two others, silently watching Mikado at work. He enjoyed seeing the older teen like that. In command.

"Aoba, you listening? Or do you need to get laid?" The comment nearly got to him but he turned to his friends with a smirk.

"Are you offering?" He asked with a sly smile and saw the shakes, along with the chuckles. "Good choice."

"Aoba-kun, we can go now. Come on you two. I need you as well." Mikado called all three and they headed towards him like puppies answering their owner's call.

Aoba was well aware that their behavior resembled that even though he was the one who agreed to make Mikado their leader. Sometimes he would think about what Orihara Izaya had said once, about how Aoba would maybe one day meet someone he'd be dying to be used by. Whenever he thought about those words, he was reminded of Mikado. Because Mikado continued to surprised him. And surprisingly, he didn't mind at all.

"Aoba-kun, be careful!" Mikado grabbed him by the neck and brought him close to avoid the punch that was headed his way.

"Huh?" Aoba wondered when his mind began to wander around and looked more closely at the scene in front of him.

They were supposed to be following leads at the moment yet somehow they ended up pissing off a group of people. Those people didn't seem to enjoy them snooping around and quickly went on the offensive, causing the four to go on a defensive position at the beginning. But now Mikado had formulated a plan and helped the other two with him to fight, despite not being strong enough. Aoba partook in the attack as well, somehow finding the time to grin.

"Aoba wants to get laid so he's daydreaming all the time now." One of them explained to Mikado, who immediately looked flushed, just after they had finished the fight. The other seemed to be laughing it up on the inside.

"Is… Is that true, Aoba-kun?" Mikado shyly asked his kouhai, earning snickers from the other two, while he helped put on their bandages. He wouldn't let them go home unless they were treated which is how the conversation popped up.

With a sigh, Aoba found himself smiling. "Only if you're offering, sempai." At these words, Mikado seemed to go into deep thought, earning him more snickers. "You really shouldn't believe everything people tell you sempai. That's how you lose your earnings."

"Eh? Is that true?" Mikado asked with a confused look but with a soft blush as well.

"I told you he's gullible." Aoba finally said and the other two couldn't hold it in any longer and broke into a fit of laughter.

"Aoba-kun, that's mean." Mikado frowned and gave a small sigh. Aoba smiled apologetically and grabbed some bandages to treat Mikado's own wounds he had been ignoring.

"Aoba, we gotta go now. Personally, I'm too tired." One of the two spoke and got up. "Try and get laid by tomorrow so today doesn't repeat itself." He chuckled and walked away with the other one.

"I'll try my hardest!" Aoba joked and waved them good-bye. "Sempai, are you planning on going to sleep like that? I mean, I disinfected your wounds, but you're filled with dirt."

"Of course not. I'm going to my usual bathhouse. The owner lets me in, even at this hour." Mikado replied with a smile and glanced at Aoba. "I think I'd be best if you come to my place as well. You can tell your mother I was helping you with homework and that you decided to stay over."

"Whatever you say sempai." Aoba grinned and proceeded to do as told as they walked out of the warehouse they had stationed themselves in.

After buying a bath kit and a cheap change of clothes, Mikado and Aoba walked side by side to the bathhouse Mikado frequented. Once there, Mikado knocked on the closed side-door and was greeted by the older owner with a smile. They paid for entering and slowly undressed before going in.

"I can see why you like coming here, Mikado-sempai. At this hour, it's like you've got the whole place to yourself." Aoba grinned while he relaxed himself into the warm waters.

"I know. It feels nice, doesn't it?" Mikado relaxed as well, sitting on Aoba's right side. "Does it still hurt? The burn from the other day?" He suddenly asked with a soft smile while looking in the direction of the hand submerged in the water.

"Oh. No, not anymore. I'm sorry for worrying you sempai." Aoba looked at the burn on his left hand that was neatly wrapped in bandages. Suddenly, he felt his right hand being picked up and quickly looked over to Mikado. "Sempai?"

"I'm glad." Mikado brought the scar to his mouth. "This one doesn't hurt anymore either, right?" His gaze seemed off to Aoba and Aoba was feeling a slight shiver coming.

"Ah, no. Not anymore." Aoba replied and tried to grin his way through. "Does sempai like looking at the scar that much?"

"I feel bad about it, you know. I know it must have hurt a lot but you held it in that time just for your friends. I was smitten by you, just a bit, when you did that." Mikado confessed with a smile, not removing the proximity of his lips from the scar.

"What a coincidence. So was I." Aoba replied with a smirk, trying not to pull his hand away from Mikado's grasp for fear of what he might do to him. Strangely, even though he tried not to be, Aoba feared Mikado's dark mood and tried his best not to bring it again.

"Do you need to get laid that much Aoba-kun? I was simply joking." Mikado gave Aoba a sly smile and dropped the hand he held. "Okay, enough soaking."

Aoba gaped at Mikado, who so easily began to walk away, and felt a chill down his spine. He felt duped. Very, very duped. And then he grinned. This was the kind of Mikado he wanted to follow. One whose revenge sent only chills down his back and made him want to keep following him.

"Mikado-sempai." Aoba decided to call him and tried to keep his smile in place. When Mikado turned around, just as he was leaving the large tub, Aoba continued. "I still stand by my earlier response."

"Only if you're offering?" Mikado repeated and those eyes struck Aoba in a way he did not imagine. And Mikado didn't seem to miss the look on Aoba's face. He walked back and knelt down in front of Aoba. "You seem to be in a bit of pain, Aoba-kun. Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Geez sempai, you like your foreplay a bit rough, don't you?" Aoba tried to remain strong but Mikado was slowly closing in on him. His hand had somehow found itself going up Aoba's leg. And now Aoba was trying to hold in his excitement.

"I'm only trying to give you what you wanted." Mikado leaned forward and whispered into Aoba's ear, causing the younger teen to flinch. He had reached Aoba's waist. "This is what you want, isn't it Aoba-kun?"

"Mikado-sempai, that's…" Aoba didn't finish his thought as Mikado soon took his lips away and threw him into the waters. Although he was surprised, he felt more shock by the fact that Mikado's hand, the one closest to his waist, was now on his member, giving it the caress it wanted. But just as he felt he couldn't hold in his breath, Mikado dove out and gave him air with another kiss.

"Silly Aoba-kun." Mikado raised his body once more and held Aoba down by the neck, tightening the hold on him just a bit while refusing to cease the actions of his other hand. Whenever he felt it necessary, he gave Aoba air again.

Eventually, Aoba couldn't hold it in anymore and ended up climaxing underneath the water. Of course, that little act nearly cost him but Mikado brought him back up before he drowned himself. As he coughed and tried to take in fresh air, Aoba looked up at Mikado.

"Was that on purpose, sempai?" Aoba asked as he rested his head against Mikado's chest.

"Just a bit. After all, you haven't said 'no' yet Aoba-kun." Mikado smiled and grabbed Aoba's right hand, lightly biting the scar he had caused.

"Because there's no reason to say no." Aoba confessed with a smile and quickly felt two hands on his chest. He gave a light moan and placed his hands on Mikado's shoulders just so he wouldn't fall.

"Glad to see you so honest, Aoba-kun." Mikado began nibbling on one of Aoba's nipples, using his free hand to slick up Aoba's hole. He quickly felt some resistance and heard the light groans coming from Aoba's mouth. "Does it hurt?" He asked with a frown.

"Compared to your mark, anything else done by you feels like a tickle. I'll let you do anything, Mikado-sempai, after all, we are tied, you and I." Aoba said with a slight grin and twitched for a second before giving a pleasured sigh.

"That sounds a lot like a love proclamation, Aoba-kun." Mikado chuckled lightly and pulled his head in for another kiss.

Aoba followed suit and talked once Mikado stopped seizing his lips. "Does it? I wouldn't know sempai."

"Come now, Aoba-kun. I'm sure even you would know what a love proclamation sounds like. So silly of you not to notice it." Mikado grinned, putting one more finger inside.

"It's…going in sempai… Will you keep teasing me like this?" Aoba changed the topic with a sly smile.

"Don't tell me you'd prefer me to play rough instead?" Mikado returned his comment with a question, not feeling bothered at all by the change.

"This is fine. Sempai, is it not ready yet?" Aoba whispered, trying to sound seductive to Mikado, hoping it would turn him on. Or at the very least get a blush since it felt a little weird not to see a shy Mikado. Then again, he was the one being done. And there was nothing he could really do at the moment to reverse their roles. Not that he was sure he even wanted to.

"So desperate, aren't you Aoba-kun?" Mikado brought Aoba closer and lowered his body slowly. As he started to pierce Aoba, he forced him down in one swoop, earning a gasp from Aoba. "Oh? Did it hurt?"

"You did that one purpose Mikado-sempai." Aoba frowned and moved himself to a more comfortable position. "But it doesn't feel bad."

"You seem a lot like a masochist Aoba-kun." Mikado grinned and held Aoba by the waist helping him move up and down.

Aoba tightened his grip of Mikado, getting as close as he could to his body. As he started to dig his fingernails into Mikado's back, the older teen frowned. Aoba couldn't hold it in any longer; his moans became louder and echoed inside the baths. And then, both came the same time.

"Sempai… More… I want more…" Aoba murmured but Mikado didn't respond right away. Instead, he lifted up Aoba and brought him to the edge of the bath. Then he began to pleasure his front again before moving onto his hole. "Mikado-sempai, don't make me beg and just do it."

"As you wish." Mikado grinned and obliged Aoba by thrusting inside him as deep as he could. Aoba could not help from gasping loudly and held onto the border of the baths for support.

Soon enough, Aoba fainted as the heat got to him. Mikado grinned and helped him out. After cleaning him and dressing him up, Mikado did the same for himself and helped Aoba by taking him to his apartment. Once there, Mikado left Aoba under the covers and stretched a bit before going to sleep himself.

However, in the middle of the night Aoba ended up waking up. He was slightly startled by Mikado's sleeping face and looked around to notice where he was. Then he brought his knees close to him with a sigh. "Damn it. I didn't think I'd go that far. Have I fallen that much for him? Oh well." He smiled while glancing over to Mikado. "As long as I can keep following him, I guess it doesn't matter. It felt really good anyway."

With those words spoken only to himself, Aoba laid back down next to Mikado and quickly fell back asleep.

**End**

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Sissy: This all started 'cuz I showed my friend gaffy a paragraph from dragon's chap11. You guys will have to wait for it though. Xd Anyways, she wanted more mkao and I didn't have a good idea to make a new fic so I mixed a few things (including gaffy's idea to have Aoba miscalculate his feelings for Mikado). There are currently four other ideas in the work (with different pairings or none, possibly) but I might take in interesting requests to mix into the stories. XD Also, this has no schedule so expect updates whenever I get an dfdjvkclsvcmvn m,xhhh


	2. Gold is the color I love

**Title:** Gold is the color I love**  
By:** Sissy

**Pairings:** szms + izmk**  
Warnings:** T!chapter. school!AU. The trio and the previous Raira generation all go together to school. Also, you might want to look for the Durarara ni Subete's scans around the net for the mini section about the school architecture (just in case).

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"If you put them together, I wonder which yellow is brighter?" It started with a simple question proposed by Mikado. Both Anri and Masaomi looked at him curiously with no sign of understanding his question. "What do you think?" He turned to them with a smile.

"What the hell are you talking about Mikado?" Masaomi was the first to ask, completely oblivious to his thought. Anri could only nod in agreement.

"I'm talking about you and Shizuo-san." The sudden name caused both to freeze. "I mean, Heiwajima-sempai. So, which do you think?"

"Mikado, I know you and Heiwajima-sempai get along because you share the same interest, but don't rope me into your problems." Masaomi frowned without noticing the blush on Anri's face.

"It's not like that! The only thing I'm interested in is-!" Without finishing his thought, Mikado was silenced by the tight grip on his waist after he had stood up.

"Me. Right, Mikado-kun?" Izaya grinned and licked Mikado's ear seductively.

"Orihara-sempai!" Mikado froze but quickly tried to escape the older man's grasp. "Let go, damn it!"

"Mikado, you shouldn't swear like that." Masaomi frowned, completely ignoring how much his friend was being sexually harassed.

"Iiizaaayaaaaa-kuuuun!" The voice caused Izaya to mutter curses but he quickly let go of Mikado and twirled around him to avoid the incoming bench. "What part of 'leave the freshmen be' don't you understand, Izaya-kun?"

"Heiwajima-sempai!" All three were thankful for his arrival and Shizuo nearly froze on the spot after being called by three different people.

"Let's play another game in the afternoon, Mikado-kun!" Izaya quickly made his escape with his low grin.

"Damn rat." Shizuo muttered to himself as he approached all three. "You guys okay?" He asked them with a shy look.

"Thanks to you Shizuo-san." Mikado grinned and fell quiet immediately.

"It's a good thing I came to check up on you." Shizuo nodded to Mikado and looked over to the other two. "Can I join you guys for lunch?"

"Uh, sure Heiwajima-sempai." Masaomi nodded and saw Shizuo take Mikado's seat.

Looking at his watch, Mikado frowned. "Sonohara-san, can you come with me? I think I forgot to look for the materials of the next class." He sighed but saw her nod in agreement.

Slowly, both walked away at the same pace without their lunches but Mikado glanced once at the two and gave a soft smile.

"Did Kasuka-sempai make that?" Masaomi asked before he could stop himself after he noticed Shizuo's lunch box. "Ah, I mean, Heiwajima-sempai's younger brother."

"You can call him Kasuka and you can call me Shizuo. I told Ryugamine the same so he wouldn't confuse himself. But yeah, Kasuka made this. He's pretty handy with food." Shizuo nodded and began to eat at a soft pace.

"I never would've thought that. Kasuka-sempai looks frail on the outside." Masaomi tried to joke but not in a way that would piss off Shizuo. Realizing that he could be insulting Shizuo, he quickly returned to his food.

"That's what everyone says, but I think he's stronger than me." Shizuo revealed and heard Masaomi hold in a chuckle. "You don't think so?"

"No, no. It's not that. It just sounds so weird coming from Shizuo-sempai." Masaomi grinned and glanced over to Shizuo, eyeing his hair for a moment. 'Damn it, now Mikado's got me thinking about it.'

As they ate silently, Masaomi kept thinking about what subject to talk about but nothing came to mind. "As I thought, it's really difficult to tell from afar but up close… Shizuo-san's hair is lighter, like a natural blond while Masaomi's is more of a murky color."

"Mikado?" Masaomi screamed with a surprised tone and fell forward with his food on the floor.

"You okay?" Shizuo asked and got up to help Masaomi. "What the hell Ryugamine?" He turned to Mikado with a frown.

"Shizuo-san, you owe me a week's worth of Kasuka-san's lunches. And don't try to back out, I'll tell Kasuka-san right now." Mikado said with a grin as he pulled out his cell phone. After sending a text, he picked up the abandoned leftovers and turned to Anri. "Shall we go Sonohara-san?"

"Are you sure?" She asked worriedly and glanced at the two blonds who were looking at them.

"Plenty sure. See you later Masaomi." Mikado smiled and walked away again with Anri, who bowed apologetically to them as they left.

"I don't get it. What was Mikado's point?" Masaomi asked himself and felt a hand on his head. "Shizuo-sempai?" He looked curiously at the older teen.

"Sorry, it was my fault." Shizuo apologized and helped Masaomi up from the ground.

"Why?" Masaomi asked confused but was forced to look down by Shizuo's hand on his head.

"Just, sorry." Shizuo simply said before he walked away from Masaomi.

With a confused look on his face, Masaomi returned to class the moment the bell rang and tried to discard the events from his mind but they nagged on and on. Finally, once classes were over he ran towards Mikado's classroom.

"Mikado! Explain!" Masaomi quickly yelled with a frown but only saw Anri's surprised look.

"Ryu…Ryugamine-kun left early. He was called by Heiwajima-sempai." She replied with a shy gaze, not knowing whether she should apologize or not.

"Escaped, has he?" Masaomi grinned to himself, trying to make the situation positive. "Ah, I know who knows where he's gone to." He told himself and ran out of the classroom, heading towards the back of the tennis court gymnasium.

Once he arrived there, he ran up the stairs and quickly saw Izaya coming down.

"Well this is unexpected, is what you want me to say, right? Did you need something Kida-kun?" Izaya teased with a mocking voice as he gave Masaomi a sly smile.

"You know where Mikado is, right? As his stalker I assume you know." Masaomi added that last line and saw Izaya frown.

"I resent the stalker comment. I'm an absolute avid fan of Mikado-kun, that's all." Izaya said in his defense, shaking his head. "But I do know where he is. You can come with since I was heading there now."

Knowing it was possibly a bad idea to follow his sempai; Masaomi still nodded and followed the energetic Izaya out of the school. They headed into the streets and seemed to follow no clear course until Izaya stopped. Masaomi looked in front of them and saw a small office.

"Where is this?" Masaomi asked with a frown, thinking he never should've agreed to follow Izaya.

"Mikado-kun's in there. With Kasuka-kun. I believe he's helping out because of a bet." Izaya grinned and started walking to the building. "Come on Kida-kun, you can be my shield if Shizu-chan comes around."

"What do you mean by 'shield'? Besides, I thought stalkers never get close to their targets!" Masaomi resented the fact that Izaya had no problem with using Masaomi and followed Izaya into the building.

Completely ignoring Masaomi's comment, Izaya walked past the main counter with a silent smile and went further in. Masaomi decided to keep quiet should they get caught and booted out for trespassing. He found it odd that almost no one was in, even though it was a shady-looking office building.

"Mikado-kun!" Izaya suddenly screamed after opening a door, scaring both Masaomi and the rest of the people inside.

"Izaya!" Shizuo came running but quickly stopped himself once he saw Izaya pull Masaomi into view.

"That's right! I brought the human shield! You thought I didn't know but I know everything Mikado-kun talks about, even with you." Izaya grinned to himself, as if he was proud of himself.

"Orihara-sempai! Let go of Masaomi!" Mikado came forward with a frown and quickly stopped in front of the three.

"Only if you take his place Mikado-kun." Izaya offered without removing his smile.

"Damn it, Izaya-san! You've gone too far!" Mikado suddenly yelled, surprising Masaomi. As he walked towards Izaya, Masaomi felt himself being pushed until he fell towards Shizuo. Then, without looking, he heard the smack. "Come here you stupid oaf!"

"Kya! Mikado-kun's going to rape me!" Izaya squealed with delight as he was pulled away by Mikado.

"Brother, is everything alright?" Kasuka came forward, seeing his brother holding onto Masaomi.

"Uh…" Shizuo didn't seem to know what to say.

"Yes, it is! I'm sorry to have bothered you all!" Masaomi quickly intervened in Shizuo's behalf and dragged Shizuo out of the room. He closed the door and turned around with a sigh. "That was Kasuka-sempai's shoot location, wasn't it?"

"Yeah. They usually keep it closed so how exactly did you get in?" Shizuo asked with a confused look.

"I followed Orihara-sempai in. Anyways, I wanted to talk to Mikado but now he's escaped again." Masaomi sighed once more before remembering something. "By the way, why were the two of you here? I heard the rumor that you don't work in the same business as Kasuka-sempai."

"We're only helping out with odd errands. So why were you looking for Ryugamine?" Shizuo asked with a curious look and saw Masaomi flinch.

"Oh, uh… I guess I could ask Shizuo-sempai as well…" Masaomi seemed worried about something but looked up at Shizuo with serious eyes. "What was the point of what Mikado had asked? And why did Shizuo-sempai apologize to me?"

Shizuo immediately took a step back and had a surprised look on his face. Masaomi took one forward and didn't avert his gaze, though he could tell that Shizuo wanted to. And as soon as his sempai did, Masaomi stretched out his hand to bring back his gaze to him. His eyes seemed to be searching for an answer but Shizuo wasn't budging at all.

"Well?" Masaomi decided to ask, hoping Shizuo would just answer him already.

"Ryugamine noticed it… So he told Kasuka… And then they planned the whole thing against me…" Shizuo began cryptically, sounding apologetically. "I was only wondering what kind of brand you were using to dye your hair."

"That's it? So how did it turn into which of our hair color is brighter?" Masaomi asked confused, not really understanding his friend's train of thought.

"That's why I apologized. Since you got dragged into this." Shizuo looked like a small puppy and Masaomi couldn't help but grin.

"I get it now." Masaomi dropped his hand and took a step back to the side. "So it isn't true that Shizuo-sempai and Mikado are dating right?"

"Huh? How did that happen?" Shizuo quickly asked, taking a step forward in confusion.

"It's a rumor that's been going around for a while since Shizuo-sempai keeps saving Mikado from Orihara-sempai. Didn't you know?" Masaomi grinned taking another step back away from Shizuo. "But I assume that it's a lie considering Mikado's reaction to Orihara-sempai."

"Well, I can't comment on that myself since I'm not really sure either." Shizuo replied with a frown and noticed Masaomi take another step away from him. "Kida?"

"You know sempai, I won't be bothered if you can call me by my name as well." Masaomi grinned and turned around to walk away. "And I like your hair color as well." He said before dashing off.

"Huh?" Shizuo stood frozen in place with a confused look. Then suddenly, out of nowhere, he felt two hands on both of his shoulders. Looking to his sides, he saw Kasuka and Mikado. "Kasuka? Ryugamine? Can someone just tell me what happened?"

"You got found out brother." Kasuka replied without showing much expression.

"But you've got a chance, Shizuo-san." Mikado said with a smile on his face.

"Actually, you were just given a chance Shizu-chan." Izaya's voice came from behind Mikado, speaking with an aloof grin. "You should've phrased it like that Mikado-kun."

"Sorry, Izaya-san. You're right this time." Mikado nodded in agreement as he dropped his hand at the same time Kasuka did so. "So what will you do Shizuo-san? Masaomi will wait for you to take the step forward now that he knows but he gets irritated easily so you really shouldn't keep him waiting."

"He's right brother. You should hurry." Kasuka said, nodding in agreement.

"What?" Shizuo looked at them, confusion still in his eyes.

"We mean run!" All three screamed at him and Shizuo ran out of the building, leaving a happy trio of spectators.

"I'm now down a helper, so is Izaya-san planning on helping?" Kasuka quickly turned to Mikado and Izaya, tilting his head a bit to the side.

"Yes, he is." Mikado quickly answered with a smile and dragged Izaya with him to Kasuka's set.

But as Mikado forced Izaya into free labor, Shizuo came into the streets. He looked around for Masaomi and quickly found him. One reason was because Shizuo was pretty tall but the other, which was probably the most important to him, was that he'd recognize Masaomi's hair anywhere. Although that was probably only as long as Masaomi dyed it blond.

"Kida!" Shizuo caught Masaomi's arm and turned the younger boy around. "Ah, wait. I meant… Masaomi." He spoke with a blush and Masaomi, who had initially looked surprised, smiled at him.

"Yeah, Shizuo-sempai?" Masaomi asked with a very patient tone.

"Uh, you…wanna go watch a movie tomorrow?" Shizuo asked awkwardly, not entirely sure if he should've even asked that.

"Why not today?" Masaomi asked curiously, tilting his head to the side. "I'm free right now."

"Eh?" Shizuo blushed and took a step back in shock, letting go of Masaomi's arm. "Uh, sure!" He nodded awkwardly and tried to remain calm. "The theater is that way." He pointed the way and began to walk, glancing back to see whether Masaomi was following him.

"I was a bit worried Shizuo-sempai would never ask." Masaomi murmured and grabbed Shizuo's hand, surprising him. "This isn't so bad, is it?"

"No, it's not." Shizuo spoke lowly, not looking at Masaomi but not letting go of the younger one either.

**Soft End**

"Mikado-kun!" Izaya ran towards his adorable target the next day at school, not fully realizing the danger he was headed towards to. "Let's have lunch-!" He screamed but quickly fell to the floor in pain.

"Oh, Orihara-sempai, are you still at it? Hasn't it entered your brain that the closer I am to Masaomi, the safer I am?" Mikado asked with a grin, after he bent down to meet Izaya's gaze.

"Mikado, don't tell me that's the reason you helped Shizuo-sempai?" Masaomi asked with a shocked look. Anri, who was by his side, could only lower her gaze in embarrassment while Shizuo began to glare at his lover's best friend.

"Well, it wasn't the only one. I also care about Masaomi's happiness. And I figured I should thank Shizuo-san someway for helping me out since school started." Mikado smiled at the two and stood up. "Sonohara-san, how about we give these two some time alone? I think they deserve it."

"Oh. Yes, of course." Anri quickly nodded and hurried over to Mikado, who had already begun to leave.

"Tell me the truth. Are you two really going out?" Masaomi asked Izaya curiously, raising his eyebrow.

"I'll leave that to your imagination." Izaya grinned and stood up, deciding to follow Mikado quietly this time.

"There's gotta be a reason Mikado puts up with him." Masaomi told himself with a frown.

"I think you'd just better trust your friend." Shizuo responded and put his arm around Masaomi, who looked up and smiled at the taller blond. He did like his hair color after all.

**Extra End**

* * *

Sissy: I was worried about putting this whole series in the M section since not all chapters would be M. So, apologies to all those of you who expected more M-type chapters. Anyways, the reason I also like this pairing is because of the fact that they're both bottle blonds so I centered the chapter on that.


	3. It started with a dream

**Title:** It started with a dream**  
By:** Sissy

**Pairings:** msmk?**  
Warnings:** M!chapter. Prepare for nonexistent plot? Short chapter.

* * *

"Mikado…" Masaomi murmured while calling for him with his lips. They met and caressed, parting to explore each other's moist caverns. "Mikado…" He couldn't get enough of him. The moans, groans and gasps coming from those lips engrossed him. He was drowning in it. "Mikado…"

"Masaomi… Please…take me…" Mikado softly spoke with a small smile and Masaomi quickly obliged.

And then, in the next moment, Masaomi's eyes open with startling speed. He sat up and looked down. He could feel it and he could definitely see it. The lump in the lower half of his body. He began to pale and his thoughts began to form.

'Did I just…?' He quickly stopped himself and ran to the bathroom for a cold shower. A terribly low-tempered and much necessary cold shower. 'I'm going to ignore it. I'm going to ignore it. I'm going to ignore it.' He meditated in his head, hoping to erase his thoughts from his mind. He wanted to clear it.

Once he was done there, Masaomi got ready for class. His thoughts were now clear and nothing was going to bother him. No, not him. Not anymore. He left his place quickly and walked to school. Sometimes, he felt like the walk took ages and other times it went way too fast. Today was one of those days were the trip was too short and now he ended up meeting with his two favorite people. One of which had plagued his dream just earlier.

"Good morning Masaomi." Mikado said with a cheerful smile.

"Good morning Kida-kun." Anri gave him a soft smile as well while doing a small polite bow.

"Uh… Good…morning you two!" He quickly tried to show his usual cheery self, despite the fact that his dream was beginning to float to the top of his mind again.

"You okay Masaomi? You looked a bit flushed. You're not getting a fever, right?" Mikado stepped over to his friend and placed a hand on his forehead at the same time he placed one over Masaomi. "Doesn't seem like it though."

"_Masaomi…_"

"I'm fine! Don't worry!" Masaomi took a quick step back in shock, his face turning redder than before as the memory floated too high up. "Come on, we got class to go to!" He said before running into the school at full dash.

"This is the first time I've seen Masaomi excited about going to school." Mikado spoke to himself with a confused face.

"He seems worried though." Anri spoke out loud with a worried look and glanced at Mikado. 'I wonder if it has anything to do with Ryugamine-kun?'

With classes in effect, Masaomi tried his hardest again to clear his mind so he thought schoolwork might help. He didn't count on it, but expected a disturbingly awkward lunch. At the very least, he managed to act like his usual self, without too much trouble. Eventually, classes resumed in the afternoon and Masaomi took the time to try and decipher the meaning of that dream.

Of course, if he tried to think too much about it, he found himself getting too warm. That's when he would try to stop thinking and start lowering his body temperature. Eventually, he found time passing by him much too quickly again and had already reached the end of the school day.

"Masaomi, you've been acting weird all day. You sure nothing's bothering you?" Mikado finally asked as they started to walk away from the school.

"I think so too. Is there anything we can do to help, Kida-kun?" Anri looked worriedly at him as well.

"Don't worry you two! I can handle myself just fine! And it's not like I'm in trouble!" Masaomi tried to ease their worries though he just felt like going home to think some more. Maybe if he explored the meaning of that dream he could make a decision on what to do about it. The tensioned air was bothering him as well.

"Well, if you think so Masaomi. Just call me if you need me for anything." With those final words, Masaomi felt a bit relieved and all three found themselves really enjoying each other's company.

After a few hours, all three separated from each other and went their respective ways. Masaomi headed home with a tired sigh and immediately fell on his bed once he arrived. Tiredly, he closed his eyes and found his mind floating away. He began to dream once more.

Mikado was there, waiting for him with a serene face. Masaomi took a step forward and then another. Once he was close enough, he extended his hand and placed it on top of Mikado's cheek. With a smile, he bent himself a little to kiss Mikado. However, once he placed a single kiss, Masaomi found himself craving for more. He separated himself from Mikado's lips and dove forcefully onto them again, this time parting them to explore the inside.

"Mikado…" Masaomi murmured clumsily, as he was still kissing Mikado, and slowly began to undress his partner. Passing a hand through the exposed chest, Masaomi felt every twitch, temperature change and shiver coming from Mikado.

"Masaomi, use your mouth…" He heard the whisper and obliged by lowering his mouth. Once he felt the target with his lips, he started to suck with a slightly possessive movement. "Masaomi… Feels good…"

"Mikado… Mikado…" He made a trail of saliva as he bent more and more down on Mikado. When he finally reached Mikado's jeans, Masaomi used his teeth to zip it down and expose everything. "Mikado…"

"Yeah, Masaomi?" Mikado's voice sounded different this time and he felt his partner disappear. Blinking, he stared at the person in front of him with a confused gaze. "Were you having a nightmare?"

"Mi…" Masaomi began with a murmur, then quickly retreated to the wall next to his bed. "Mikado?"

"Don't look so shocked. Your mom let me in." Mikado explained with a smile and then frowned a little. "I was worried you weren't feeling so well so I came to visit. So, were you having a nightmare? You kept calling my name."

"Ah, no, I'm okay!" Masaomi tried to look away from Mikado's eyes. "It wasn't anything bad, I think…"

"You think? You don't remember?" Mikado asked curiously, titling his head a bit.

"No, I, uh… I remember…" Masaomi replied a bit too quickly, not fully awake yet. If he had been more awake, he would've noticed that something was wrong with him and he wouldn't have been surprised by Mikado's actions.

"Does it have something to do with this then?" The question was too vague for Masaomi to understand until he felt the touch of Mikado's hand in the one area that Masaomi hadn't expect it to be.

"Wah!" Masaomi yelled, nearly jumping out of his skin as he stood up immediately on his bed since he had no more space behind him to retreat to. His blush, he hoped, was not as noticeable as he felt it be. But what froze him was the shy look on Mikado's face as he brought back his hand.

"Sorry, that was bad of me, wasn't it?" He apologized and looked away, though Masaomi could still see the outline of a blush.

"Mikado…" Masaomi murmured his name and caused Mikado to look at him, seconds before he dropped down on Mikado. As he pinned his best friend down on his bed, Masaomi made the confession. "Mikado, I had a sex dream with you."

"Huh?" Mikado quickly said, his blush deepening. "That's why…? This morning too?"

"Yeah…" Masaomi looked away sadly and then returned his gaze to Mikado. "But you don't feel grossed out by that, do you?"

"I can never be grossed out with you Masaomi." Mikado tried smiling and felt Masaomi getting closer to him until their lips met softly. "You happy?" He asked once they separated and saw Masaomi grin like his usually self. However, Masaomi was caught by surprise when Mikado grabbed his arm and changed their positions with one easy swoop. "But I hope you don't think it'll go as you dreamt."

"Eh?" Masaomi's grin hadn't disappeared but he felt an increasing feeling of doom. 'No way!' His thoughts cried out into space, not fully prepared for what was to come.

**Soft End**

"Haa… Haa… Mi…Mikado…" Masaomi felt every twitch, temperature change and shiver of delight coming from Mikado. His friend was inside him after all. It wasn't like he had planned everything but somehow he knew Mikado had everything figured out, one way or another. "Mikado, let go… I can't hold it in…much longer…"

"Not yet Masaomi. You've been having too much fun on your own." Mikado murmured into Masaomi's ear, his hand holding onto Masaomi's member very tightly. "Come on, you stopped moving."

"Mikado… Uhn!" Masaomi moved his hips, trying to find his own sweet spot while Mikado made sure he wasn't about to fall on his face. "Mikado… I'm tired… Let me come…"

With a sigh, Mikado moved, letting Masaomi fall slightly on his bed for rest. This allowed Mikado to dwell further into Masaomi until he freed Masaomi's member. At the longed freedom, Masaomi released himself, feeling more pleasure as Mikado did the same inside of him. "Ah…" Masaomi sighed exhaustedly, fully dropping on his bed before falling asleep.

Mikado stared at Masaomi's tired face with a smile and spoke to himself, "I've been in love with you for forever and it's only taken you this long to figure out your own feelings. You've kept me waiting too long Masaomi. So I'll just tease you for a while longer."

**Bosskado End**

* * *

Sissy: KTKR! I'm sorry, this had absolutely no plot. Well, it sorta started with one and then I lost part of my interest so I forgot what I had planned. Thus is the explanation of why it took me so long to finish this one. Although, I did plan the seme!Mikado for fun. My friend gaffy likes it and I've heard mention of a few people who seem to like this type of Mikado as well. Personally, I prefer him bottom but his Bosskado side remains too cool. And I hope everyone has had a good holiday so far (anyone who's missing Three Kings Day knows why I said so far).


	4. Down the spider falls

**Title:** Down the spider falls**  
By:** Sissy

**Pairings:** sziz + srcr + mkao**  
Warnings:** T!chapter. Baby!mk(?)(about a year old). Long chapter because I work that way some times.

* * *

It appeared very suddenly without warning. Slowly, it crept under the people. And no one had noticed it because they were too focused on their cell phones or that scene in front of them. That's why no one had noticed it creep up under them.

Strangely enough, even its origin was a mystery. Since no one had noticed it at the beginning, no one knew where it came from. Perhaps it had been drawn to the noise. Or it was just curious. The point being that by the time everyone noticed it, it was too late.

…

Shizuo was known everywhere for his short temper. And especially known for his extreme dislike of the Shinjuku informer. So no one was surprised by the fact that they had gotten in another fight. And the thing was that people knew it was dangerous yet they still remained around, looking for the end of the fight.

As usual, Shizuo had grabbed a traffic sign and was in the middle of swinging it. The seconds passed by fast to the onlookers, but only Shizuo had noticed it. That's why he had begun to slow down. Or at least he tried. And Izaya had noticed that small action.

'Stop right there! Stop right there! Stop right there! Stop right there!' Shizuo's mind screamed as he had tried to stop his swing. "STOP RIGHT THERE!" He screamed at the top of his lungs, scaring all the onlookers. And for good reason.

…

Izaya had noticed it. That Shizuo had been trying to stop. And despite his hatred of the man, he knew that if the so-called strongest man in Ikebukuro was trying to stop his swing, there must be some innocent bystander involved. He just didn't know what kind.

Until, that is, it fell right on his hands. Most likely, because of the sudden stop, the force of gravity shook it and caused it to fly forward. But as Izaya thought about how exactly it got in his hand (the calculations were a bit heavy, even for him), he realized that it was still in his hands.

He didn't want anything to do with it. Unfortunately for him, fate wasn't on his side today. Or as some random blogger would say, the city was most likely playing a trick on him today. Point being, he probably should've stayed home today.

…

The bystanders were all frozen in place. The first reason for that was the sudden scream Shizuo had just done. The second, and possibly the most important one, was because of what had just landed on Izaya's arms, as if the precision was calculated by Shizuo.

The street fell into a deep silence until Shizuo dropped the sign to the floor with a frown on his face. Everyone watched him light up a smoke and turn around. Most likely, he didn't want anything to do with it. Unfortunately for him, the moment he tried to leave, it broke into a loud cry. It completely took him by surprise and he looked back to see Izaya smirking.

Making a face that screamed 'Hell no!', he walked slowly back to Izaya but with a reluctant pace. It quieted down and Izaya took the chance to thrust it onto Shizuo, his smile never leaving him. Then, with that same smirk, Izaya tried to leave but felt something grabbing hold of him. Izaya turned around to look at it and saw Shizuo smirking as if saying 'Karma's a bitch, bitch.' which, of course, only pissed off Izaya.

Both looked down on it and saw its happy face, as if glad to be between them both. And as they lowly growled in frustration, they seemed to have come up with something. Looking up at each other, their eyes projected a sort of silent agreement. They only spoke one word before walking away together, albeit reluctantly.

"Shinra."

… … …

"Celty, my honey!" Shinra, who never really learned his lesson, tried to hug whom he believed to be Celty once she returned to their apartment, only to be greeted by a punch in the face. "Eh?" Feeling something off, he looked up from the floor to see the weirdest combination in the world. "Is the world ending? Shizuo and Izaya at the same time in my apartment? Without fighting? And what exactly do you have in your arms?"

"It is what it is, Shinra. Are you going blind?" Izaya mocked his long time friend, or rather associate since theirs could be the weirdest friendship, tied only with Shizuo and Shinra's friendship.

"Would you cut it out you flea? Or do you really want to continue pissing me off?" Shizuo yelled with an annoyed tone and felt a squirming in his arms. He looked down to see tears in its eyes and frowned. "Anyway, Shinra, we need to find this thing's parents."

"But it likes you two. Besides, that's a rude thing to say about…" Shinra stopped again when the door opened behind the two. Once he saw the silhouette, Shinra got up from the floor to repeat his earlier mistake. "Celty, my honey!" And quickly received a blow to his ribs. "Ugh! This is definitely Celty…" He spoke happily to himself, standing beside his beloved.

[What's going on here? Why are you two here together?] Celty asked curiously and eyed what Shizuo had in his arms. She was in shock, but it's not like she could show it because of her lack of a head. Before she could say another word, someone burst in from behind her.

"Mikado~! I found you!" Masaomi's sudden entrance surprised them all, even Celty, who had forgotten the fact that she had brought the teen with her. As Masaomi came towards Shizuo, the older male quickly stepped aside and let him fall in the hallway.

"I'm confused." Izaya spoke up and everyone looked over at him. "Yes, I'm not the type to hide my confusion. But back to the matter, Kida-kun, did you just call that Mikado? As in Mikado-kun? That Mikado-kun?" He asked and watched Masaomi get up from the floor.

"Of course I meant Mikado. You'd think I wouldn't recognize my best friend if I saw him." Masaomi grinned, sounding very confident in himself, much like he would when going out to pick up girls.

"Great. Then you can take it." Shizuo spoke without remorse and handed it to Masaomi with speed that rivaled his swings. Unfortunately, the moment it passed hands, it started bawling out in the loudest voice it could muster. Everyone, except Celty, covered their ears, though Masaomi was careful not to drop it.

Suddenly, as it continued to cried, Shizuo began to move to grab it once more but Masaomi froze him when he looked under the clothes. With a startled face, he shoved it back to Shizuo. "What did you do that for? Is this a new hobby Kida-kun?" Izaya joked with a grin, dropping his hands since it quieted down.

"That's not Mikado." Masaomi replied seriously and all looked at him confused. Then, he grinned aloofly and continued, "I mean, even I make mistakes as well. Sure, it looks like Mikado but…uh… That's a girl." The sudden confession surprised the rest and left both Izaya and Shizuo looking down on it. "Ah! I get it now!" Out of nowhere, Masaomi spoke again, his happier sounding words causing everyone to look at him again.

[What do you get?] Celty asked, moving a bit closer to Masaomi in order to ask the question.

"I know why Mikado disappeared now… Hehe…" His grin would have freaked out any normal person but the four in front of him weren't exactly normal. With a dramatic movement, he pointed to it and cried out, "That's Mikado's love child!"

"What?" All three males asked at the same time.

"The mother must've run away and Mikado's on the search for her. He probably left his love child with someone and it ran away looking for its mother and father. I understand everything now Mikado… I see… That means," Looking at both Shizuo and Izaya, Masaomi's grin widened. "You both are now its surrogate parents!"

"What the hell does that mean?" Shizuo took a step forward, towards Masaomi, with a menacing look.

"It means what it is!" Masaomi said slightly cryptically and moved away from all of them. "Then, since there's nothing else I can do, see ya!" As if the problem at hand had nothing to do with him, Masaomi escaped.

"So, exactly what has been solved?" Shizuo asked with a glare and looked over to Shinra, who stood next to Celty with a complacent look on his face.

"Basically, you two have now entered parenthood! Is what I think that boy has just said." Shinra tried to interpret Masaomi's words in his own way while smiling at the two.

[What you mean is nothing, right?] If Celty could sigh, it was probable that she did at the moment, though if she thought about it, only Shinra would know. [I think you should do as that boy said. At the very least, she seems very comfortable in your arms, Shizuo.]

"Actually, the bigger problem is something completely different Celty." Shinra began with a grin, turning all of his attention onto his beloved.

While Celty tilted her helmet to the side very cutely, Shizuo tried shoving it onto Izaya, who took a step back in retaliation. Then he got angry and tried to pin Izaya to the wall but the informer escaped behind Celty.

"Stop running around like children! You should listen too!" Shinra stopped them and sighed once they looked confused towards him. "Do you even have any idea what's needed for raising a child? Diapers, toys, cradle? All those things?"

"I have money. I don't think that'll be a problem." Izaya joked with a sly grin as if it were nothing but he had no plans of really doing anything.

"You may say that but Izaya-kun, are you sure about where to raise her?" The question was sudden that it surprised all three. "See, I knew you hadn't thought about that. How do either of you expect to raise her right?" _If you're even capable of it_, Shinra bit back those words for fear of his safety.

[Actually, I agree with you there Shinra.] Celty wrote to him and that made his day. As he screamed her name, he stupidly tried to hug her but fell to the floor after being hit once more. [I know you two don't get along but this child right now trusts both of you. You really should decide your next course of action.] She warned them both but Izaya had started to escape.

At that moment, it started to cry once more and Celty had used her shadows to grab him by the legs. Then, very quickly, Shizuo placed it on top of Izaya, watching it play with Izaya's hair very happily.

"Kids are cute, aren't they?" Shizuo turned to Celty with a smile. "They can make even someone like this stupid flea more submissive!" Those sudden words surprised Celty and Shinra but probably Izaya even more.

"I'll have you know that I've never given a second thought to this-! Ow! Owowowowow!" Izaya had sat up on the floor and quickly grabbed of it as it had held onto his hair very tightly. Shinra had to hide to hold in his laughter while Celty poked him to not hide her own laughter. "Just take care of it yourself! You're the one who would be a better parent!"

At that, Shinra burst out laughing. "What did I say that could be so funny?" Izaya tried shoving it back to Shizuo but the bartender took a step back. Then, with all the cuteness in the world, it tried to go back to Izaya. "Fine then!" Izaya cried out and brought it closer to him. "But you're coming too Shizu-chan!" He began to leave, noticing the tears that had begun to form in its eyes.

With a very serious second thought, Shizuo stayed seven steps behind Izaya, noting that just one more could cause it to cry. It really frustrated him. If he made it cry then he'd feel responsible, as if he had hit it hard. But this was something different and it frustrated him that now he was listening to Izaya's commands. He just wanted to rip the broker in half, but he had been the one to place it on the broker's hands in the first place. So basically, Izaya now held a hostage.

"We're back, Namie-san!" Izaya declared with all the joy in the world as he stepped inside his apartment, leaving the door open for Shizuo.

"We?" Namie asked, turning around to see it and Shizuo. She had instantly frozen in place due to shock and was considering completely ignoring the whole situation. "So it happened…" She muttered to them, "You finally became the criminal in a very serious offense. But I never imagined that you'd partner up with Heiwajima Shizuo."

"What the hell do you think you're talking about? I'm not here because I want to be!" Shizuo yelled in retaliation, nearly breaking the door.

"You shouldn't show such violence in front of the baby Shizu-chan!" Izaya teased as he sat in his desk chair. "Right, Mikarin?" At his question, the baby burst into smiles.

"Mikarin?" Both Shizuo and Namie were confused.

"Well, we can't just keep calling her an 'it' or 'she' or 'the baby', right?" Izaya laughed along with her.

"I think I just saw something I wasn't supposed to…" Namie turned around and thought to herself, 'They look alike there. Since when has that guy looked so childish? No, he's always looked childish. It's just the baby that makes him seem more so.'

"Don't just decide a name on your own. You can't take it back once you do!" Shizuo sounded like he was scolding Izaya but the other just took it as a compliment.

Then, all of a sudden, Mikarin started to cry, surprising them. "Eh? Why? I'm right here, right?" He looked towards Shizuo with a surprised look but Shizuo was taken aback by the burst of tears.

"For Christ's sake…" Namie walked over to the pair and grabbed hold of Mikarin, who still cried loudly. "Yeah, I figured. You, the protozoatic brain, go buy some diapers and baby powder. And while you're out, buy milk formula, a bottle, baby food…" Namie went on and on about what was needed, failing to ignore that Shizuo wasn't listening to her at all.

"Why the hell do I have to look for it? She just cries when either of us steps too far from her." Shizuo said with a glare and received a long stare from Namie.

"She won't stop crying unless her diaper is changed. It makes no difference whether or not you're here. Really now, you're both useless, aren't you?" Namie gave a sigh as she tried to calm Mikarin just a bit.

"Now, Namie-san, that's a really bold thing of you to say." Izaya grinned slyly as he watched her hold Mikarin. "Considering I write your paychecks, you know."

"Orihara Izaya is a pedo." Namie rebutted suddenly with confidence but both Izaya and Shizuo looked at her confused. "He's kidnapped a child and can't even take care of her right. He's too ashamed to be seen buying this stuff. As if a guy like that could even buy this stuff on his own." She continued without worry while staring at Mikarin. Then, with all the cool air she could muster, she turned to Shizuo with a grin. "If you're looked at wrong, all you have to do is say those words."

"Hold on, Namie-san…" Izaya stood up from his chair with a surprised look and then turned to see Shizuo's grin.

"You're right." At those words, the two began a backwards mouse and cat game that left the onlookers completely in shock.

As she watched them leave, Namie brought out her cell phone and dialed a number. While, she waited for the other to pick up, she placed Mikarin on the desk and kept an eye on her. When it connected, she spoke up. "It's me. They're out right now."

… …

"I have to hand it to Namie-san. She really got me there." Izaya murmured to himself as he walked alongside Shizuo while they shopped for the baby essentials. He really didn't want to do this shopping with Shizuo but if he didn't have the oaf in his sights, he probably would've done what Namie had suggested. Even though it was something too underhanded and Shizuo would never do it, not even if it would cause Izaya pain.

"Stop muttering to yourself. How am I supposed to know what flavor of food to get?" He screamed it so loud that everyone in the vicinity retreated. Izaya held in a chuckle and just picked whatever seemed yummy to him.

"What else are we missing?" Izaya asked, trying to be civilized for the moment. If Shizuo snapped and destroyed something he'd just blamed it on Izaya and Izaya would rather not have to pay property damages he could squirm his way out of. Outside was public property so it didn't really matter to him but inside was a whole different matter. He'd rather not use all his resources thanks to Shizuo.

"Food, diapers…" Shizuo recounted the things in the shopping car with curiosity and gave Izaya an idea.

"Baby clothes!" Izaya declared and even more people started to leave the store.

"Huh? We're in a supermarket! How are we supposed to buy that here?" Shizuo squeezed the cart's handle a bit too tightly and ripped it off.

"You silly goose! They sell everything here!" Izaya teased much too stupidly and would soon regret it, but at the moment he simply thought, 'Well if I don't tease Shizu-chan every so often, I might get rusty.'

… …

"I heard the news." Namie simply said with a cold stare as she placed Mikarin in Izaya's hands. The moment Mikarin was passed over, she stopped crying.

"How-? Why…?" Izaya was confused as Shizuo nearly shoved him to the side to go inside the apartment and leave the boxes of things they bought.

"You really don't know how to change a diaper, do you? I'll have to teach you next time." With those words, she left the apartment.

"Have I been tricked by Namie-san? How'd she get someone to bring this here so fast? Then again, we've been out for a while." Izaya muttered to himself, going inside as well while failing to notice how Mikarin seemed to enjoy being in his hands.

"What the hell are you talking about, you flea?" Shizuo nearly screamed at Izaya but lowered his voice when he saw Mikarin's face. "Anyways, I'm done for today. I need to head home."

"You don't get it Shizu-chan? How many times does it have to happen before it sinks in?" Izaya teased with a grin, happy at Shizuo's confused expression. "If you leave, Mikarin here will cry all night. And you already decided not to let her cry, right? Otherwise, you wouldn't be here with me right now."

"I need clothes." Shizuo simply said with a glare.

"Alright, Shizu-chan. Let's go get you some clothes!" Izaya declared with a smile and turned back to the door.

"Don't get so cocky!" Shizuo yelled at him and smacked him over the head, slightly surprised that Izaya didn't avoid it. 'Still, felt a bit good.' He thought to himself.

… …

"After that is this." Namie calmly explained to both men as she cleaned Mikarin and used the baby powder. "If you don't add this, she'll have a rash and it'll hurt her."

"You're so motherly, Namie-san. Sure you don't want to raise her?" Izaya asked with a grin but was smacked in the face with baby powder.

"The only child I'm interested in raising is Seiji's." Namie clearly said and placed the diaper on. "Now, you'll have to do this on your own. Don't you dare say the poop smell makes you sick. She's your kid so learn to love every inch of her."

"I did tell you Mikarin isn't ours right?" Izaya asked as he eyed Shizuo picking up Mikarin.

"You're raising her, aren't you? Makes no difference to me either way. She's your responsibility." Namie spoke coldly and walked away to do the rest of her work. When she had come in for work, she was surprised to see Shizuo still in the apartment. Though how they had slept the previous night was something she wasn't interested in.

"You really shouldn't anger me so much Namie-san." Izaya tried to threaten her but paused the thought when he heard his cell phone ring at the same time as Shizuo's. "Yes, yes?" He answered happily without much care. Maybe returning to work would help him get rid of Mikarin.

"Yes… Alright Tom-san." Shizuo hung up the phone and looked over to Izaya. "I have to go to work." He simply said and started to walk away when he noticed Mikarin squirming in his arms. Realizing he still had her there, he sighed.

"Aw, Mikarin, you don't want to be away from Daddy or Mommy right?" Izaya teased the child but only caused Shizuo to get angry.

"And who the hell are you calling 'Daddy' or 'Mommy' anyways?" He tried to throw something, but realized he only had Mikarin in his arms.

"But Shizu-chan, you make such an excellent Mommy." Izaya grinned, loving the fact that Shizuo couldn't attack him. Though before the situation got violent, Namie had shoved a baby bag in his arms.

"Here you go, 'Mommy'. It's got everything you need. You already know she gets hungry easily." Namie told Izaya and quickly threw both out before she heard a word of complaint. "It'd be nice if they'd just realized they've got no way out of that child."

… …

"Mikarin? Aw, that's such an adorable name!" Masaomi grinned and tried to grab Mikarin but the other didn't enjoy it. Celty on the other hand was allowed to carry her as Mikarin enjoyed being in her arms. "So how's parenthood coming along? I bet she's waking you up at odd hours in the night. Are you changing her diaper alright?"

"You want to be hit, don't you? I haven't let off this steam I got for a while now and it's been building up a lot. So you don't mind dying here and now for a while, right?" Shizuo seemed about ready kill Masaomi and the younger kid took the chance to run away quickly.

"That's not nice Shizuo-kun. That kid is still worried about his friend, you know." Shinra said as he came out of the building Shizuo and Celty were in front of. Currently, Shizuo and Mikarin were waiting for Izaya to come out as well. And it helped that Mikarin should be able to tell if Izaya got too far away by escaping. "Oh, Celty! You look so adorable! Want to try having-?" Without finishing his thoughts, Shinra found himself on the floor.

"You don't want kids Celty?" Shizuo asked but failed to receive an answer when Mikarin suddenly started crying loudly. "This is…" Somehow, Shizuo learned to distinguish this cry from the times he had heard it before and how different it was to a normal one. "That flea!" He screamed out and took Mikarin in his hands.

"Huh? Shizuo-kun, what's wrong?" Shinra asked as saw Shizuo make a mad dash into the building Shinra had come out of. "Oh, did Izaya escape? Wow, if not for the fact that it's those two, people would think this is a case of spousal dispute." He laughed to himself though Celty didn't find it funny at all.

[Stop laughing Shinra!] Celty jabbed Shinra again angrily and thought to herself. 'Ah, my chances of seeing a normal Ikebukuro are leaving me…'

"Don't worry Celty. I'm sure they'll learn eventually to rely on each other and to stop doing such silly things. A baby always changes a person's perspective." Shinra said with a smile and stood up.

[Like how a mother who originally wants to give away her baby changes her mind after giving birth to it?] Celty asked curiously and Shinra nodded happily.

"Yeah. Well, how do you say this? It's like recognizing your responsibility or growing up. I guess that's an accurate description of how things should end up." Shinra explained and chuckled to himself. "Though the rate their going, it'll be a while before they reach that level."

[That still isn't funny Shinra.] Celty bit back with slumped shoulders.

"In the meantime, would a child make you happy Celty?" Shinra asked and prepared himself for another smack but received nothing. Opening his eyes to look at Celty, he noticed her leaving. "Ah! Celty! Don't run away! That shy side of you is cute but still! Don't leave me behind!"

… …

"We have two options. Either buy a crib for Mikarin and bring a futon for you; or sleep all together in bed." Izaya said calmly and received a deep glare from Shizuo. "Is the prospect of sleeping in the same bed as me disturbing Shizu-chan? I imagine you won't be able to take sleeping on the floor for much longer. And Mikarin dropping in on you while you sleep is dangerous, you know."

"Even if the world was covered in lava and your bed was the only salvation, I still wouldn't get in it with you." Shizuo seemed ready to snap but he still held the bottle just the right way. If he put too much pressure on it, it could break and hurt Mikarin after all.

"You're so stingy Shizu-chan! No wonder you're so grouchy if you can't even get a decent night's sleep." Izaya teased with a grin and saw Shizuo come closer to him with the baby in tow.

Once he was in front of Izaya, he cornered him to the couch and was inches from his face. "How about I punch you to death so I can relieve my stress and the world of a piece of dirt like you?"

"Oh, my Shizu-chan. But if you did that Mikarin would be without a parent and would cry endlessly, wouldn't you think so?" Izaya maintained his grin and felt something wet on his pants. With a confused and pale look on his face, Izaya looked down to see a puddle of drool mixed with milk that Mikarin had left.

"Just take a bath you flea!" Shizuo grabbed Izaya by the neck and threw him away from the couch before proceeding to clean Mikarin's face. "You did a very good thing." He told Mikarin with a grin, who responded happily, not knowing why Shizuo was happy.

"That's why you're a suitable Daddy, Shizu-chan." Izaya commented to himself and continued on his way to the bathroom. Somehow, he was glad it was drool on him instead of puke.

… …

"What part of the baby is not supposed to be left alone do you not understand?" Namie glared at both of them, holding onto a happy Mikarin like a bag. "The baby can crawl. It's big enough to crawl. You should have noticed it sooner!"

"See, Namie-san? I said you were very motherly. Would you like to take in Mikarin if it worries you so much?" Izaya grinned and received a smack on the head from Shizuo. "That hurts Shizu-chan! I proclaim it as DV! DV, I say!"

"How 'bout I make it a homicide?" Shizuo asked by grabbing onto Izaya's shirt neck. He was really pissed after all. All he did was take a small nap and end up woken up by Namie's scream. It seemed Mikarin had somehow found a way up the stairs and was looming over the edge.

So now Namie held onto Mikarin while standing in front of the two men who were sitting on the floor supposedly reflecting on their actions.

"Damn it, he's wrong. You two make the worst parents ever…" Namie muttered to herself in an angry tone but Izaya caught what she said.

"Oh, who are you talking about Namie-san? Is there something you know about Mikarin?" Izaya asked with a slight grin, thinking there was something his worker was hiding from him. The fact that someone had said the opposite of 'they make the worst parents ever' meant someone thought they did. Which meant that whoever thought of them as good parents think Mikarin is safe with them. "What would happen if I seriously hurt Mikarin? Would that person keep quiet?"

Of course, those were the wrong words to say at the moment as Izaya felt a tight grip on his arm. Looking to his left, he saw Shizuo's angry look and realized his mistake.

"Right here, right now, DIE." Shizuo was serious until Mikarin broke into a cry. She had probably sensed the mood in the room and was scared, rather than curious about her position. For a second, Shizuo was surprised but never let go of Izaya's arm.

"Here." Namie suddenly dropped Mikarin in Izaya's arms and both males watched Mikarin fuss over Izaya with tears in her eyes. Then, while they tried to calm her down, Namie escaped the three without a single word, effectively escaping Izaya's line of questioning.

"This is what happens when you say stupid things." Shizuo spoke to Izaya with a glare and forced him to comfort Mikarin cautiously.

Namie stood by the windows and looked outside at the scenery. Then, she shook her head at something and looked back at the two idiots and Mikarin. 'Maybe it'll work out. As long as they don't give up on her.' Namie thought to herself, feeling only slightly worried about everything.

… …

Masaomi came into the apartment with an angry look and dropped down on Izaya's sofa without a word. Both Izaya and Shizuo looked at him confused while Mikarin was excited to see another person in the apartment. Namie was out at the moment so she wouldn't be able to comment on anything, which was probably a good thing.

"So, what is it now, Masaomi-kun?" Izaya asked with a smile, hoping the boy wouldn't bring him more misfortune since the time he declared both him and Shizuo as surrogate parents.

"You haven't heard anything about where Mikado has gone, right?" Masaomi asked, turning his gaze to the information broker. There was worry in his eyes, Izaya could tell.

"If you're asking whether I know anything, then you're sadly mistaken. Oh? Don't tell me you saw Mikado-kun?" Izaya's smile turned into a grin, though he was actually pissed. If Masaomi had seen Mikado then that meant the boy was not going on a nationwide search for Mikarin's mother, which in turn could say that Mikarin was in no way related to Mikado and Izaya and Shizuo had really been partners in a kidnapping crime.

"No! It couldn't have been him! I in no way acknowledge that was Mikado!" Masaomi screamed in a frustrated voice. Whatever plagued him was really bothering him.

"You saw Ryugamine? Where?" Shizuo, who had finally caught up to the conversation, asked menacingly to Masaomi.

"I'm telling you it wasn't him! There's no way Mikado would go into a love hotel with Kuronuma Aoba of all people!" Masaomi screamed at the top of his lungs and ran away from the apartment as fast as he could. He didn't want to accept it. He wanted someone to tell him he was wrong. But he also wanted Izaya to find out the truth. But if it was, then he didn't want to hear it. So Masaomi ran away.

"Interesting. I'll have to look into that." Izaya grinned and stood up. Almost immediately, Shizuo watched silently how Izaya began to make quite a few phone calls.

But it didn't give him any results.

… …

"So, since the baby would've cried anyways if either of you were away, you left her behind in order to cover more ground?" Tom asked with a worried look on his face. "Isn't that irresponsible?"

"That Namie woman is there taking care of her. She'll be alright." Shizuo explained and took out a smoke. "Ah, haven't had this for a week now…"

"Seriously? You of all people?" Tom was surprised by the bit of news. He never figured Shizuo for the type to quit smoking in front of kids. 'Who knew pigs could fly?'

"But maybe I should quit." Shizuo suddenly stopped himself from lighting the cigarette. "I have a hunch that whatever that flea wants to do won't work. No matter what, Mikarin will still be here with us."

"If that's how you feel, then quit. If you continue now, you'll just lose your resolve." Tom said with a wide grin. "But please don't stop working. You're our best collector, you know. No matter how mild you might seem, the name Heiwajima Shizuo still makes this business run well. I owe a lot to you."

"I owe you more Tom-san so don't worry. I'll just force the flea to come with on our runs." Shizuo grinned and walked away. Tom couldn't help but smile to himself. The change in Shizuo, although small, felt good. If things continued on this track, Ikebukuro might be more peaceful. Though then again…

'Spoke too soon.' Tom thought to himself as he heard Shizuo's roar on how Izaya had been slacking.

… …

Shizuo woke up in the middle of the night when he felt something fall on his face. Looking to his right, he realized it was Izaya's arm. Growling very lightly, he shook it away but the broker didn't wake up at all. As he sat up, he realized Mikarin was right in the middle of the futon.

Because Shizuo had refused to sleep in Izaya's bed, said flea went and brought him his futon to sleep in. "If Mikarin falls, at least it'll be on something soft." Was Izaya's reasoning, but why the flea didn't buy a crib was more of a mystery to Shizuo.

Ruffling his hair, Shizuo grabbed Izaya and placed him back on his own bed with a little force. "Shizu-chan, that hurts…" Izaya murmured in his sleep yet still he refused to wake up. This surprised Shizuo a lot but he shook away the thought and returned for Mikarin. Softly placing her next to Izaya, Shizuo finally decided to sleep next to the two.

Of course, Izaya would never let him live down this decision. Which he came to regret come next morning.

"Kya! Shizu-chan, you dog! And here you swore you'd never got into bed with me!" Izaya mocked Shizuo with more ill will than the embarrassed girl look he had on.

"Shut the hell up, you flea! I only did it so nothing happens to Mikarin! Why the hell didn't you buy her a crib anyways?" Shizuo bit back, following Izaya around the room.

Both knew the leaving the room was a big no. Mikarin would cry if they disappeared on her. And Izaya didn't want Shizuo meddling too much into his things, lest he find the one thing that didn't belong to him and was stashing away for "safekeeping". So both ran around the room like idiots until Izaya slipped on Shizuo's futon and was slightly beaten in front of a happy Mikarin by Shizuo.

… … …

"Oh, I was wondering how long it'd take for you to find me." In front of the two stood the person they needed to speak with the most. Next to him was a year-younger male, happily grinning towards the two men. He found the whole situation hilarious and was trying hard to contain his laughter. "How are you Mikarin? You've been treated well, haven't you?" He asked the baby girl in one of the two's arms with a carefree smile.

"Stop kidding around Ryugamine! You're acting just as worst as this flea!" The angry blond yelled in response, not noticing how the baby girl had been surprised by the roar.

"Oh, please don't place me in the same category as Izaya-san. That's very rude, you know." The raven-haired boy replied with a small chuckle, though he had meant to pout in front of them.

This confrontation was put in motion by the boy's best friend who, after finding out that the best friend that had been missing for almost two weeks was now in school, had run as soon as he could to the classroom next door to find him. Unfortunately for him, his best friend had managed to avoid him. So after searching the grounds of the school, he finally found his best friend. Oh, and the situation he found him in…

"Ah, Masaomi? I'll talk to you later. I'm a little busy, see?" His best friend's voice was calm and even his face didn't seem worried in the slightest, considering that the young blond had just caught him in the middle of sex inside the school grounds. Even his partner, the year-younger male was too busy feeling immense pleasure from being taken to care about anything else.

"Sempai… Mikado-sempai!" He had called out his best friend's name and seeing truth in front of him caused the young blond to retreat. And to feel incredibly depressed by everything. He didn't want to accept that his best friend could be in a relationship with a kid he hated from the bottom of his heart.

So in the end, despite feeling horrible about it, he reported the situation to the two men who also needed to speak to the raven-haired boy. But since that moment, both boys played a small game of cat and mouse with the two men. Yet even now, that they had been cornered, both boys didn't seem all that worried. In fact, inside their hearts, they were even pleased by the situation.

"Aah! Awa! Wahwah!" The baby girl tried to voice something out but she was still too young to be comprehended completely. At the very least, the words she had been trying to form were unnoticed by the two men.

"That's right Mikarin. You're getting better. Soon you'll be able to talk, won't you?" The raven-haired boy spoke with a happy tone, but the baby girl had been too far away at the moment for him to truly speak with her.

"Really now? What was your plan, Mikado-kun? This baby girl is yours, isn't it? Just because your underage doesn't mean you should throw away your parental rights." The one holding onto the baby girl spoke with a grin, thinking up ways to make the boy confess.

"But Izaya-san, both you and Shizuo-san are Mikarin's parents. She herself has accepted this. You really shouldn't play with a young damsel's heart. Why not go back home and continue your game of house? You're enjoying yourself anyways, aren't you?" The raven-haired boy spoke as if he knew everything and perhaps he did. At the very least, more than the two men knew.

"And don't try to deny it, Orihara Izaya. Both me and Mikado-sempai have been watching you both all this time." The year-younger boy said with a sly grin but his sempai turned to him with a frown.

"You shouldn't say it like that Aoba-kun, you're making us sound like stalkers." He scolded him and the other understood he was in the wrong.

"Oh! I see. You're right sempai." Though he meant to apologize, the kouhai still sounded like he wasn't sorry in the slightest. Of course, the fact that they had been completely ignoring the two men seriously pissed off the angry blond.

"Ryuuugaaamiiineee!" He took a step forward, his face only seeming angrier by the second. The man next to the blond frowned only slightly. That way of speaking was usually reserved for him. Of course, the man completely failed to understand that what he felt at the moment was something akin to jealousy.

"This would be a good chance to run, except…" The raven-haired boy began with a thoughtful look that turned into a full blown grin. "You haven't learnt anything at all, have you Shizuo-san? You really should look to your left." He pointed to the baby girl and both men finally noticed the tears in her eyes.

"You're doing that on purpose. How?" The other man asked, trying to calm the baby girl down. Even the angry blond had calmed himself quickly and tried smiling at her.

"Oh, I'm not doing anything. Mikarin is completely autonomous. She doesn't need me ordering her around like your puppets do, Izaya-san. After all, Mikarin wants the same thing I do." He smiled and felt a tug on his arm. "Ah, it's time? Well, then, please hurry up and realize it. Mikarin has always belonged to the two of you. She cares about you two as much as I do." At those words, he left both men confused and the year-younger boy slightly jealous.

Unfortunately, before either could ask anything, the roar of a bike was heard and both boys were rescued by the infamous Black Rider. Without the speed that could catch up to her, they decided on the same thing.

"Shinra."

… … …

"Celty isn't here, you know." Both Izaya and Shizuo were greeted in this way by their so-called friend. "I only heard about it today. It seems Mikado-kun contacted Celty and asked for her help with something. I would've told you two, but it looks like you already know."

"We'll wait here until she gets back. I want to know what she does." Izaya said and walked inside the apartment as if it were his own. Shizuo soon followed quietly and Shinra did so last after closing the door.

"Well, anything you two want in the meantime?" Shinra offered some hospitability, though he just wanted the two out of his place as soon as possible.

"You checked out Mikarin's health last time, right? It was all okay, right?" Izaya began his questioning with those two; however, Shinra just looked at him weirdly before answering.

"What are you talking about? Of course it was. Don't tell me you did something? Did something happen to her?" Shinra looked a bit too worried about the line of questioning. "I mean, I told Celty it was only a matter of time before Mikarin-chan showed symptoms of Shaking Baby Syndrome!" His worry was short-lived when Shizuo smacked him against the floor with one punch, effectively knocking him out.

"No matter how stupid his thought was, you really shouldn't have knocked him out, Shizu-chan. I was really worried about that 'autonomous' word Mikado-kun used just earlier. That meant he didn't regard Mikarin as human and I'm pretty sure she's not a robot." Izaya said with a frown and looked down at the happy Mikarin who had somehow fallen asleep by now.

"I know." Shizuo's words surprised Izaya a lot. "But I didn't like how he thinks we can't raise one baby." At that, Izaya gave a light laugh and agreed with Shizuo without making him angry. After that, an awkward silence befell them both and they simply decided to wait.

Luckily, it seemed Celty was not far as she had soon arrived to see all four in her living room. "Celty!" Shinra, who had recovered by now, quickly jumped towards his beloved and was greeted by a blow to the stomach. The usual treatment seemed welcomed and he simply stood next to her after recovering.

[I figured you might come here. Sorry about not saying that I found Mikado.] Celty wrote to them and waited for their response, which she assumed would only be negative.

"Well, I really was surprised you helped him out. But you got to know what's really going on around here, didn't you? I doubt even you would condone his actions if you thought he was in the wrong." Izaya spoke calmly but with his usual grin. He was most likely trying to scoop out information but Celty shot him down fast.

[I won't tell you what you want to know. All I can say is that I agree with Mikado. Everyone has your best interests at heart.] Celty wrote and left Shinra confused.

"Even me?" He had asked, wondering how he could be in agreement when he knew nothing at all. But Celty nodded to him and he decided to go with it. No matter what, Celty was the one he would always side with.

"How is leaving a baby in our care the best option for both her and us? Neither of us is capable of doing this! Didn't he think we'd hurt her?" This time, it was Shizuo who spoke wrongly and Izaya gave him a small smack on the forehead.

"Have we changed?" Izaya decided to ask and the response was automatic.

"Yes." Both Shinra and Celty replied with a nod.

"Then he just wanted to make us more soothing to everyone? That's just downright like me. Is Mikado-kun trying to take my spot?" Izaya was only slightly worried about that part but more intrigued by the idea.

But Celty shook her head and wrote, [He was just worried. You both becoming soother was a plus to his plan it seems. He'll tell you when the time comes, is what he told me.]

"Then we're supposed to just keep on like this? Raising the kid he doesn't want to raise himself?" Shizuo asked this time but Celty took a while before she nodded in response.

[You two were always meant to raise her. I think that's an accurate response from what he had told me.] With that the conversation died and all three left the apartment. [Thank you for holding down the fort, Shinra.]

"Always! I do anything for you Celty." Shinra looked happy with himself and continued. "Though I think I figured it out. What Mikado-kun's plan is, that is. And if I have, then most likely, Izaya has as well."

[I know.] Celty responded and slumped her shoulders. 'I might've said too much. Though I'm not sure if this'll help Mikado or not, I'm still worried. I hope it doesn't blow up in his face in the end…' If only Celty could sigh, she'd be doing so right now.

… …

"What do you have planned, flea?" Shizuo asked, eyeing the happy-looking Izaya with a frown.

"Oh, don't worry. You'll see. I've more or less figured things out. I really won't go along with Mikado-kun's plan. Though it has been fun taking care of Mikarin." Izaya explained with a grin and turned to Shizuo. "So Shizu-chan, how much do you hate me?"

"A hell of a lot. What's the point in asking? That won't ever change." Shizuo was curious about Izaya's line of questioning and took a step away from Izaya. Something told him that whatever Izaya was thinking of wasn't going to be any good.

"Yeah, I figured." With those words, Shizuo dropped his guard a bit. "I mean, I hate you too so I figure Mikado's plan will never work. But, if we do what I'm thinking off, he might show up of his own accord." Izaya's grin widened and Shizuo lifted his guard again by taking another step away from Izaya.

Seeing his movements, Izaya couldn't help but chuckle to himself. The way Shizuo was acting around him was actually funny. Once they were back at the apartment, they greeted Namie and Izaya got ready to tell Shizuo his plan. It would make the pretty angry so he had to be ready to use Mikarin if necessary.

"Here Namie-san, could you hold Mikarin for a little bit?" Izaya started by placing Mikarin in Namie's hands. Immediately, the baby girl looked distressed but since both males were still in front of her, she had yet to cry out. It seemed she was getting better at understanding situations.

"What are you planning, flea?" Shizuo repeated with a doubtful look. He really didn't trust Izaya, no matter the situation.

"Oh, don't worry, Shizu-chan. It's quite easy, you know." Izaya smiled wickedly and pulled down hard on Shizuo's shirt neck before planting a kiss on his lips. Namie froze on the spot while Mikarin looked in awe at the scene. She had never seen something like this so when Shizuo pushed Izaya away with force, she looked slightly disappointed and her tears swelled around her eyes. "Now look what you did, Shizu-chan. Mikarin is sad." Izaya coughed a bit and rubbed his back. The attack was stronger than he anticipated.

"What the hell's up with you anyways? Doing something like that all of the sudden?" Shizuo asked, rubbing his lips to get rid of the feel and taste of Izaya's kiss.

"The kiss? It's part of the plan, Shizu-chan. Just go with it for now. Come on, we have a show to put on." Izaya said as he grabbed Shizuo's hand as if it were nothing. The other tried to pull away but stopped when he saw Mikarin's happy face and felt slightly curious about this 'show' Izaya was talking about.

"A show? That won't work. Not if you're planning on doing the whole thing." Namie murmured and watched them enter the bedroom. Looking down at Mikarin, she noticed that the baby girl was now crying silently. Muttering a curse to herself she went and looked for her cell phone. "Be grateful brat. At least I'm keeping you happy."

… …

"I told they'd do it eventually, Mikado-sempai." The clingly kouhai, Kuronuma Aoba, spoke with a grin as he looked over to the two slightly shocked males.

Izaya's plan had been simple. Get Shizuo in the same room as him and make fake sex. Somewhere in the middle they began to fight for the top position and Izaya succumbed to Shizuo's advances. So while Namie had invited Mikado and Aoba in for the unth time, she put up with their moans of pleasure and tried to prevent Mikarin from hearing too much.

Mikado had been thankful for Namie's call and played with the now calm Mikarin. The fact that she was always happy around him was something obvious to the three. Both of them were on the same wavelength after all.

"And it only took them about…three weeks?" Ryugamine Mikado, the mastermind behind everything this time around, asked Namie with a smile. He seemed much too happy-go-lucky at the moment.

"Something like that. Just go with it." Namie simply said and waved off the whole conversation. She wanted this to be over but knew it never would. Especially not know.

"Mikado-kun, Aoba-kun. Why are you here?" Izaya was the first to ask, noticing how Mikarin seemed at ease with Mikado. There was something fishy that he didn't understand yet. But at the very least, it seemed like part of his hunch was correct.

"To congratulate you, Izaya-san. You figured it out, haven't you?" Mikado said with a smile and played a bit with Mikarin again.

"That you wanted me and Shizu-chan to hook up? Yeah, I know that much from what Celty told us. How about you explain the rest?" He asked with a grin and slowly sat down on the sofa, wincing a bit from the pain.

"That was the plan? What the hell for?" Shizuo screamed to Mikado and noticed how Mikarin was surprised by his loud voice. Feeling bad about that, he sat down next to Izaya quietly.

"I like Izaya-san and Shizuo-san." Mikado started with a smile, looking down at Mikarin. Izaya quickly noticed how Aoba looked glum at that. "That's why I thought, it'd be better if you two 'hook up' already and save us all the trouble of always looking after you two."

"That sounds unnecessary." Shizuo quickly spoke up and Mikado smiled sadly at him.

"Yeah. I know you two really hate each other. So getting you two in that position would take a miracle. Or maybe something that could put you two at east and force you together." He explained and looked up at Namie. "That's why I asked Namie-san for her help. You see, Mikarin is my clone."

"Huh?" Both were taken by surprise at the sudden impossible revelation. They really didn't believe it.

"Why else would she refuse you two to be separated? Why she only calmed down in your presences? Mikarin carries my will. My deep desire and worry. I told you, Mikarin wants the same thing I do and she cares about you two as much as I do." Mikado explained and lifted Mikarin in the air. "We have the same face, you know."

At that, Izaya and Shizuo couldn't help but agree. Mikarin really did look exactly like Mikado.

"You two softening up was something extra. The city feels safer knowing you two are actually working together to raise a child. Why do you think you never found me? Or why I had no problem missing class so much or evading Masaomi in school? The teachers and everyone else knows. I'm the one who placed Mikarin in between you so they wanted to thank me somehow." Mikado stood up and walked towards Izaya, quickly handing him the baby girl in his lap.

"So everyone else knew?" Izaya asked with a pissed smile. He really didn't like that.

"No, not really. I made that up." Mikado suddenly said with a smile. "Aoba-kun and his gang helped us out. They really enjoyed seeing a mellowed out Izaya-san and Shizuo-san."

"Ryugamine!" Shizuo screamed, standing up to punch Mikado but Izaya stopped him by holding his hand.

"And Namie-san? How did you get her to agree?" He asked, looking over at the woman.

"Isn't it obvious? Seeing you in an awkward position was fun." Namie honestly replied with a grin. She had enjoyed the whole show from start to finish.

"From the very beginning, Mikarin was meant to be there. With you and Shizuo-san. And it's not like you'll get rid of her, right? Not after taking so much time out of your busy life to raise her. You both compromised a lot here, haven't you?" Mikado was smiling at them and the two could not help but agree to that point. They had already given a lot of themselves to Mikarin. If they didn't see this through, it would just nag them to no end.

"You really planned this all out? What if you had failed?" Izaya asked, looking at Mikado with a half-assed grin.

"I would take care of Mikarin. Simple as that. Of course, I'd teach her to completely mess up your lives in exchange but still…" His sly grin surprised both males but only Aoba seemed excited by it. "Now then, with that out of the way. Congratulations again Izaya-san, Shizuo-san. I expect you two to be happy and to take care of Mikarin as best as you can."

"What if I teach her all sorts of things?" Izaya suddenly asked, trying to get at least one win out of this.

"Yeah, I really don't think Shizuo-san would let you. Having two people with your personality would only piss him off." Mikado pointed over to Shizuo and Izaya looked at him, only to be greeted by various flicks to the head. "Good bye then you two. Thank you again, Namie-san. I'll see you some other time."

With that Mikado and Aoba left the apartment. Namie quickly got up as well. "I'm going home now." She simply said and walked out of the apartment, leaving all three alone.

"What now?" Shizuo asked with a sigh, taking all the information said and processing it as detailed as he could. Everything was just too sudden.

"Easy. You move in Shizu-chan. Officially." Izaya said, rubbing his forehead. "Since we already decided to raise Mikarin 'till the end, we might as well make it official."

"You have those sorts of desires?" Shizuo eyed him doubtfully, slightly backing away from Izaya.

"Well, I can't say it didn't feel good. And I'm not planning on letting only you get away. So let's just make the best of it." Izaya grinned and rested his head against Shizuo's arm. "Let's give everyone a show to remember."

With a silent look, Shizuo placed his hand on Izaya's head. "Agreed." He simply said.

But before the whole scene could go anywhere, they frowned at the smell that could only be identified as Mikarin. Looking down, they saw a bothered Mikarin and began a game of rock-paper-scissors to decide who would change Mikarin's diaper.

Izaya lost.

**End**

* * *

Sissy: Finally! This ends! Somehow, it ended up being way too long. Much longer than I expected. In any case, my thanks to Foxy from Dattebayo Devon for helping me out in finishing this and looking it over for errors in the pace it works (she also suggested I stretch it X3). Her harsh comments were extremely helpful.


	5. In here, for you

**Title:** In here, for you**  
By:** Sissy

**Pairings:** aomk? + izmk? + srcr? + szmk + aokr**  
Warnings:** T!chapter. Based on this one pixiv picture (ID No.13777534), so use as reference to how they're all dressed. Possible two-parter.

* * *

He had long since lost his mind. There was probably nothing anyone could do to help him. That was probably the only reason why the guards left him alone. Even most of the prisoners did so as well. Except for those that did not learn their lessons just yet and those who found him interesting all the same. At the moment though, he had escaped his holding cell once more and was walking down the halls with ease. The slightly loose handcuff on his right wrist dangled lightly and his choker gave no alert of his health. They had installed it due to his unknown moods.

"Niiieeekaaawaaasaaan!" He approached her door with an aloof smile and knocked twice. "Good morning. Would you like to see the sun today?"

"Hyahahahahaha!" He heard a crazed laughter in response and nodded to himself as if that in itself was the answer. Then without saying another word more, he opened the steel door and faced the girl in the restraining jacket.

"There are birds singing in the room above." He said to her and walked away, humming a song now.

… … …

"I win again! Fork over the candy!" He said with a grin as he dropped the cards on the floor.

"Masaomi, you're cheating aren't you?" The girl with him asked with a frown, dropping her own cards slowly on top of his.

They were usually together because they were in love. So at some point they began to play cards against each other for their stashes of candy. Anyone who saw them would always wonder where they got all that candy, but they had their methods. Much like everyone else around them.

But even though they were like that, relatively cheerful, at the very least, her physical self never looked good. She had parts of her body covered in bandages, though the origins of whatever she had beneath them were as much as a secret as to what was under them. He, on the other hand, was pretty cheerful and never looked glum.

All of a sudden, they were joined by a second girl with a busty chest and a small sword charm around her neck. She looked worried about something and for good reason too. "Have any of you seen Ryugamine-kun today? It's my turn to watch him this week and he wasn't in his room this morning." She questioned them while looking around at the same time.

"Mikado ran away again? He's probably running around the compound or with those two. That is, unless he thinks that Niekawa-san is a bird again." He joked around with a smile and received a pair of frowns. But as he ignored it, he looked up at the barred window above him. "Ah, there he is. I hear Yumasaki-san and Karisawa-san humming in the hallway inside. They only hum when they're with Mikado."

"Oh, I see. Thank you Kida-kun." As the girl turned around to leave, he stopped her by calling her name.

"Anri-chan, you can leave Mikado alone for a while. It won't stop him from making some sort of trouble anyways, so how about you play cards with us? I'll even go easy on you." He grinned but saw her shake her head in disapproval.

"No thank you, Kida-kun. You cheat." She simply said and ran off without looking behind her.

"Masaomi, care to explain your actions now?" Although she loved him very dearly, it was at times like these that she could really show how much she cared about him. And teasing him always seemed to the trick. Her eyes never reflected any evil, much like her face. But the aura she released left people know how angry she really was.

"I don't cheat Saki! You guys have too little trust in me!" He lifted his hands and felt the cards drop down from the inside of his shirt. "Eh… I don't know how that got there."

…

"Come on! We're going to miss the fight today! Hurry up Kuru-nee!" The girl with the glasses called over her twin, though if you talked about personality and outerwear, they were complete opposites. And although she was excited, the girl with the glasses still couldn't fully catch the attention of her twin. "Kuru-nee! What are you looking at?" Finally unable to put up with her any longer, she got closer to the other girl.

One had glasses, a pair of braided long tails and a too long-sleeved shirt while the other had a short boyish hairstyle and a pair of handcuffs on her wrists for her own protection. Though if they really meant to protect her and not others wasn't something she planned on discussing with anyone. "Him. (I see Aoba-kun down there.)" The sister spoke with an interested look on her face as she gazed downward from the window.

"No~! I don't want Kuru-nee to show him much interest! He's got the hots for that Ryugamine guy!" She quickly held onto her sister's arm and tried to pull her away from the window. "Come on, Kuru-nee! There's more interesting stuff going on right now!" Finally, she found the strength and began dragging her sister.

"Usual. (Izaya onii-sama fighting is normal.)" The other girl rebutted as she let herself be dragged by her twin. Her facial expressions didn't seem to change much and her voice never raised itself too high.

"I know!" She responded while hiding her thoughts to her twin. 'But I hate you thinking about that guy.'

…

"Shizuo nii-chan is fighting now. I wonder why he and Izaya nii-chan can't get along?" The little girl by their side wondered as she looked out the window. One of the men had a scar on his face and the other just looked plain scary but they could've been called her bodyguards as they almost never left her side.

"Those two are young and hot blooded, ojou. Plus, they're like animals; they instinctively know who their enemy is." The man with the scar explained with a laugh however, the other male frowned at his explanation.

"Don't worry, ojou. They should be releasing Simon soon. They never let those two fight long enough to wreck the place." The scary-looking man explained coolly and fixed his eye patch a bit.

"Nee, Akabayashi-no-ojisan, Shiki-no-ojisan, did the temperature drop in the compound?" She suddenly asked curiously, looking over to the man with the scar.

"I don't think so, why?" He answered curiously, raising his good eyebrow behind his sunglasses.

"It feels colder for some reason. I'm going to go look now." She replied with a smile and began to walk away from the two men. The one with the eye patch looked at the other silently as if there was something he wanted to say.

"Worry not, only that other child is capable of getting into trouble around here." He smiled in response, deciding to stay put where he was in the mean time.

…

They wanted to be alone, that was the reason they were hiding. Without the ability to keep their hands to themselves, they hungrily devoured each other's lips. They were in love. And they wanted to be left alone. However, their luck sometimes didn't work in their favor.

"Seiji! Seiji!" A woman's voice could be heard from across the hall. They knew it could only be her. Still, they could not agree on parting at the moment. Therefore, even if it meant that they would be caught, they carried on.

Then, as expected, the woman with the long hair found them. It wasn't until she forcefully separated them that they even acknowledged the woman. Receiving a frown from each side, the woman only scowled in response to the girl.

"I won't ever accept you by his side. Seiji belongs only to me!" She screamed to the girl and felt rejection from the boy on her right. "Seiji?" She asked with a surprised look to the boy.

"I've said it already, nee-san. I refuse to be bound by you. I will be the one that binds anyone I love." He said with a serious look and forced the girl back to him. The moment they were close, they continued devouring each other's lips. This meant that they were now completely ignoring the woman.

All of the sudden, they stopped and looked up, not at the woman, but at something behind her. The woman turned around in response and froze.

"How did you get in here?" She asked the incoming guest who simply grinned in response.

…

They watched in blissful silence at the scene in front of them. It was a normal scene but being able to watch it together made them happy, considering that if they did not move within the next ten minutes, he could be in danger. His left shackle jingled with the movements of his hands as he moved it to grab the bloody car license plate on the ground. On the other hand, she moved to fix the bandage around her chest a bit.

Suddenly, he spoke up, "Do you want to leave now? Simon-san is being released." He pointed over to the gate that opened in the garden they were in.

"If you wish." She replied earnestly and looked over to the other two who walked over to them.

"Something's up. I can't say what but I've got this really bad feeling." The man, who appeared with the locked hands with a chain that connected to a collar around his neck, spoke up in a weird fashion. He seemed worried about something but wasn't able to provide further information.

"Seems like Ryugamine Mikado, the locked patient of Ward B of the…" The deadpan woman next to him spoke up and talked about useless facts before getting to the point, "…was seen roaming the lower levels of said Ward B…" She managed to say before continuing on to more useless facts,

"That sounds troublesome." The first man said to the woman next to him and she nodded in response. They were ignoring the woman, who now looked like she was slightly pouting.

All of the sudden, they felt the temperature drop to an extreme low in the garden. The man with the locked hands gave a depressed sigh and began to walk to the gate of the garden, followed by the woman who accompanied him.

"Kasuka, you aren't cold?" A blond man approached the two and rubbed his arms together. The man eyed the shackle on his right arm before responding.

"I'm not. But I do have to leave soon, brother. Also, they placed that on you again?" He pointed to the shackle on the blond man and said man gave a frustrated sigh.

"Yeah…" He growled and looked over to the black-haired man who approached them. The jacket on him was slightly out of place and he also sported the same shackle as the blond, though on the left wrist. "You took your time! Just hurry up and come! We're going with Kasuka to the General Gardens!"

"Ehh?" The third man pouted and felt his cheeks being squeezed by the blond. "Shad gursh, Shishu-shan!" With a frustrated growl, the blond let go of the man and smacked his shackle with the one the other had. "Ah! That's not fair Shizu-chan!" The other said with a frown and tried to separate the shackles but was unable to.

"Let's go then. All together." The first man said and stood up. Then, all four headed to the gates and exited the garden they were in.

… … …

"Bye-bye Mikapuu! Let's play another song later!" The female retreated along with her companion towards the two males who waited patiently for them. They had left the younger teen on top of the statue located in the General Garden of the compound.

"Bye-bye Karisawa-san, Yumasaki-san…" The teen said with a grin as he waved them goodbye.

"Ryugamine-kun! You disappeared again! Where were you?" The girl with the glasses asked with a frown and a worried tone. She had been looking for him all over the compound. At least, where she was allowed to anyways.

"Ah, I'm very sorry Sonohara-san." He replied lazily and tried to take a nap on the statue.

"Mikado-san!" A younger voice called out to him and the teen turned to see a boy coming towards him. "I've finished my work! Give me love!" The boy said energetically and stopped just next to the girl.

"I see." The teen nodded and dropped down from the statue. Then, with a smile, he extended his hands to the boy. "Come here Aoba-kun."

Nodding, the boy walked closer, ignoring the yelp from the girl, and accepted the teen's hug by placing a soft kiss on the teen. As the girl tried to shield her eyes, they separated and smiled softly at each other before kissing each other softly again. Then they separated and did the same once more, then a few more times again.

"Ah, it's here… The kissing machine…" The young blond came forward with a frown and sighed. The girl by his side simply smiled with pity in her eyes. "No matter how many times I see it, I can't believe he doesn't get tired of it. Mikado's switch to become a kissing machine is so simple. More like, stop taking advantage of the situation!" He yelled and forcefully separated the two.

"But Mikado-san doesn't mind!" The boy replied with a pout. He really wanted to continue kissing the teen.

"I do!" Another voice roared and came close to the group. Both girls who had been there and the young blond paled once they saw the blond who came towards them while dragging another male with him.

"Hiya, Mikado-kun. Give me some love." The man who had been dragged smiled to the teen and received a kiss from the teen.

"You stop that! Haven't you learned your lesson?" The blond punched the other and watched him fly off before hitting the wall of the garden.

"Shizu-chan, you shouldn't act so jealous just because you've never kissed Mikado-kun." The man smirked and made fun of the blond.

"Here. (I'm jealous too.)" The boy turned around when he felt someone poking his shoulder and met with lips on his own.

"Ah! No! Kuru-nee! I don't like you doing that! Let go of her you crazy love-sick fool!" The other twin frowned and tried pulling her twin from the boy but the twin refused to do as she wanted.

"Crap, They're going to end up bringing out Simon here…" The young blond frowned as he watched the scene with worry. Then he glanced at the teen who was responsible for everything and noticed that he was smiling, despite everything.

"Huh?" The girl with the glasses and the busty chest looked around for something. For a second, she thought she felt something bad.

"Fighting no good." Suddenly, a dark-skinned giant appeared. His clothes were tattered and he had a serious gaze but easily stopped the fight that had escalated between the two men.

"Yeah, spoke too soon…" The young blond sighed and tried to think of something nice until he and the rest heard the crash of a window. They looked up and saw a girl pinned to the window bars by a leg. "Isn't that Harima Mika? Who's…? Mikado!" He quickly looked at the teen who had been staring at the scene above with interest.

"She'll fly soon. We both love birds after all." The teen replied with a smile and the young blond turned to the giant.

"Simon-san! Ignore those fools! Mikado released Niekawa-san!" The blond screamed and the giant released the so-called fools before running towards the second floor where what they were watching was taking place. "I'll go help! Saki and Anri-chan, you stay here!" He told the two girls before running to help the giant.

"They're too late." The boy whispered the moment he separated from the older twin. Smiling at her, he felt the compound's temperature drop. "Wow, that's really cold. Though it's to be expected since it's still winter. What should we do, Mikado-san?" He turned to the teen with expecting eyes, failing to notice the others who watched curiously what they were possibly plotting.

Another loud noise was heard and they saw the girl who had been pinned, falling to the ground. One way or another, the bars had been cut and a woman with a freed restraining jacket appeared on the window, holding onto a little girl.

"Harima-san!" The girl who usually accompanied the young blond called out and ran towards the body that had fallen. Once she held on to the unconscious girl, both she and everyone else failed to notice how the teen eyed her disgustingly.

"Hyahahahahaha!" The woman with the freed restraining jacket laughed happily and jumped down with ease. "Takashi! Takashi! Takashi! Takashi! TakashiTakashiTakashiTAKASHII!" She screamed with fervor and excitement. It seemed she was looking for something. Everyone else knew that much but they could never tell her the truth.

"Niekawa-san!" The girl with the glasses and the busty chest ran towards the woman and the clashing of metal was heard. At some point, both females had drawn swords but where they came from, no one could tell. "Please stop this right now!"

"He's right there! Takashi's right there!" The woman replied with a grin and looked over to the man who had been brought with the blond.

"Eh? She thinks I'm Takashi this time?" He asked with a surprised look. For him, that realization was the worst possible thing that could be happening.

As the two females fought, the boy walked over to the teen with the older twin beside him. "Are we proceeding, Mikado-san?" He asked with a whisper to the teen but the older twin still heard it.

"I said let go of Kuru-nee!" Though the younger twin refused to accept that it was her twin that held onto the boy, she still tried to separate them.

With a nod, the teen walked over to the blond and pulled him down for a kiss. "Please destroy that, Shizuo-san." He asked with a soft smile and watched the blond turn red in an instant.

"Release ojou this instant Niekawa!" The man with the eye patch yelled as he and the man with the scar ran towards them and created a bigger uproar than the one that was already happening.

As they fought, the giant jumped down from the open window to try and stop them but there were too many running around the garden. While this happened, the young blond tried to focus on the two unconscious people in the hall though he wanted to go down and help.

"Shizu-chan, what are you…?" The man who had come into the garden with the blond asked while looking at said blond rip out the center statue with ease. "Why the heck did you even grab that?" He yelled and avoided the statue that came towards him.

"What's that?" The younger twin looked over what should've been the remains of the base of the statue to see an opening.

"Oh, they're really there." The boy said with a grin and an excited tone. "Looks like you were right, Mikado-san!" He turned to the teen with a happy smile.

"Plan? (What is your objective?)" The older twin asked curiously as he watched the teen go down a flight of stairs that were in the opening. "Lost? (You were looking for something?)"

"Just something someone commissioned from us." The boy winked and started to lift the left side of his shirt to show her the round tattoo on his back. "We'll be leaving soon after we find it. How about it? You want to join us?" He asked the older twin with a smile.

"Yes! (Of course!)" Was the earnest reply given to him by the older twin.

…

"For such a lovely kid, you really have bad things planned, don't you?" The muffled voice asked from behind the mask and the man with the worded tattoo on the right side of his upper chest turned around to see the one who was talking.

"I only have love in my mind." He replied honestly while turning back to see the scene that was happening in the General Garden. The man gave no care to the masked one who had his head popping out from one of the roof's tiles.

"Is that why you called for those two boys to come here? I thought they looked suspicious. They don't belong here in this compound. Though it's not like I care either way whether they're here or not. Won't the guards be pissed to be taking care of unnecessary people?" The masked man asked while maintaining his balance with ease.

"They're not acting. Those are their real personalities. And they came here with the same purpose as I did. To find love." He replied with a smile and waited for the teen to come out of the hole.

"Even if you find her, it won't be easy to leave here. And even if you do, the guards won't let you live it down. They want her locked up here." It would seem that the masked man was warning him but he was just stating the facts. Though it wasn't like the other would listen to him anyways.

"She and I will leave. I promised her. Though if they really wanted her locked up, they would've placed her in the B Ward instead of under the General Garden. Unless they wanted their eye on someplace easy to spot but difficult to figure out." He began to think and the masked man spoke again.

"So all the times that boy freed that young lady was to find out where she was stashed?" He tilted his head curiously and waited for the response.

But the man laughed first before speaking up. "And the guards thought that he was just simply crazy but he had a plan all along. That kid is smart, despite his looks."

"It would seem so." The masked man agreed up to that point.

…

The teen continued down the stairs until he reached the last one. Ahead of him was a dimly lit hallway that allowed his journey to continue. With a smile and a hum of a song, the teen walked on to the destination on the other end of the hallway. The sounds coming from behind him were from above and it was slowly getting lower. Not that he minded. He was more interested in what lay ahead. After all, despite his planning, his mind was still not his own. He had long since lost it. That's why he nothing he did affected him. He simply did the work others asked of him.

Finally reaching a door, he saw that it had a digital lock. To him, bypassing this was easy. Even if his mind was lost and there was nothing anyone could do to help him, there still remained information he could use. So he bent down and quickly unlocked the door.

"What could be behind this?" He asked out loud to no one in specific. He had already made a guess and a bet to what could be there. If he was right, then he would soon leave. If he wasn't, then he'd sit and wait for the appropriate punishment. He simply didn't care anymore; or he never cared to begin with. That's what happens when you lose your mind.

The light reached the inside of the room and the teen quickly saw the outline of a body. It was chained to the wall with its hands above it. The peculiar thing was that it was missing a head so it was probably a corpse. But before the teen could feel disappointed, he saw it move. Though he should call it female since the curves on its body were pretty well defined.

"Ah ha~!" He grinned at the scene that would have scared him, but the loss of his mind prevented him from feeling anything but excitement.

His job was now finished. All that remained was to take his partner and leave. Though now that he thought about it, his partner seemed interested in one of the twins. They could probably take her too. And that blond man who completely obeyed him. He seemed like fun too.

But before he could do all that, he smiled at the female body in front of it and spoke, "Found you Celty Sturluson-san! Let's go out and play! There's someone who's been wanting to see you for a long time!"

**End?**

* * *

Sissy: Yes! Managed to finish this one in one swoop (after writing half of it anyways)! The baby story got longer and longer so I was afraid it would happen to this one too. In any case, I managed to put in most of everything I wanted. Kaztano was supposed to show up but I ignored him. The four member gang only got a slight reference too, so sad. So, should I ever decide to make a second part, I hope to include them. In the mean time, this ends here~! He he! Xd


	6. The Gods enter through the center

**Title:** The Gods enter through the center**  
By:** Sissy

**Pairings:** izmk? + szmk? + msan + ckao**  
Warnings:** T!chapter. AU!chapter. Based on pixiv IDnos 12347816 and 13579137. I'll start linking them on my profile soon for those interested.

* * *

There was a garden in the center of the mansion. The pond had clear blue water and the gazebo centered on it was surrounded by flowers. Inside was a young boy, his outfit clearly presenting his high status. He seemed to be gazing at the waters without a care in the world. Suddenly, a man in a strange traveler outfit appeared behind him with silent movements.

"Who are thou that can enter my domain so easily?" The boy asked coldly, without turning to face the unknown man.

"Just a simple traveler, my lord. I've come here for a small favor." The man replied with a grin and took a step forward without feeling scared.

"Favors can only be heard if thou requests for an audience. And thou has not passed through the regulated path for this." The boy turned to the man this time, his eyes staring coldly at the man.

"But I don't actually expect you to willingly agree to my favor, my young lord." The man grinned and moved swiftly, taking in his hands something precious to the boy that caused him to fall to the floor unconscious. "Thanks for the meal, little lord." He murmured before taking a bite of the thing he stole.

… … …

In the middle of the road stood a small food shop with two customers who looked none too happy to be in each other's company. One had blond hair while the other had a soft black colored hair. The blond had a comfortable fighter-type outfit while the black haired one wore formal clothes, like those of a court, yet they looked casual enough on him. Both were eating a couple of dango sticks they had ordered in silence, trying not to speak to each other more than necessary.

Suddenly, the blond sighed and the other looked at him curiously. "How much longer do we gotta walk to get to the mountain? It's been two days already."

"We've got two more mountains to climb before getting there, Kida Masaomi. Just cool your head. We'll get there." The black haired boy answered him as he finished his dango with a quick bite.

"Kuronuma, I dunno about you but I like being back in the shrine looking at Anri-chan's face." Masaomi pouted as he munched on another piece of his dango.

"And I would prefer to be in Mikado-sama's company but this is important, considering it's for Mikado-sama's sake that we're heading this way." Kuronuma replied with a stern voice, clearly stating the same as Masaomi. He didn't want to be next to this person.

With pouts in their faces, both decided to keep quiet and finish their dangos before moving on. The road wasn't the most pleasant but it was very empty, enabling them to keep their pace stable. As night neared, they made camp and prepared for sleep to come. However, a sudden noise caught their attention and Masaomi moved to protect Kuronuma. After all, despite the dislike he had for the other, this one was necessary for their mission.

"Aobachin!" The voice was recognized by the two and Masaomi quickly moved away, shocking Kuronuma who was tackled by the man who wore a loose street outfit and bandages over his face. "It's Aoba-kun! Long time no see, my lovely Aoba!"

"Let go, Rokujou Chikage!" Aoba growled and quickly kicked the other off of him with a murderous intent. "You damn perverted guardian! Have you no shame?"

"None what-so-ever!" Chikage grinned and gave the boy a thumbs-up while ignoring the nosebleed he had.

"Bro, clean yourself up at least. Also, what are you doing here? Weren't you looking into good candidates to help us?" Masaomi bent down to meet with Chikage's gaze. He was frowning but the man simply smiled before accepting Masaomi's hand to get up from the floor.

"Oh, that? Well, there's good news and bad news." Chikage grinned and wiped the blood with his sleeveless arm. "It seems that there are various candidates that are willing to help but none of them want to leave their homes and request that Mikado-sama be sent to them instead."

"Over my dead body!" Masaomi and Aoba yelled in unison. If anything, they shared the same admiration for the one they set out to help.

"Yeah, I said the same and got kicked out." Chikage chuckled and stretched a bit before continuing his report. "The mountain you're heading to is one with a candidate with lots to spare but he wouldn't grant me an audience and seriously beat the crud out of me."

"So what's the good news?" Aoba quickly asked and received a confused look.

"That was the good news." Chikage replied but grinned before coming closer to Aoba. "But Aobachin has good luck whenever we're together, so I think I'm your good news. I'm sure things will go well now that I'm here with you." After saying those embarrassing words, Chikage fell to the floor in pain.

"You're nothing but a useless mercenary pretending to be a guard, don't get so full of yourself." Aoba seemed serious and quickly went to sleep.

"G'luck bro. I'm sure you'll make Kuronuma like you." Masaomi joked with a smile and a thumbs-up before heading off to sleep as well.

With smiles all over his face, Chikage decided to stand guard while the two slept happily. When dawn broke, the other two woke up and met with a grinning Chikage who had gathered fruits for them. Masaomi quickly made fun of how reliable Chikage was and tried to get Aoba in a better mood before the other decided to leave them behind.

"I want Anri-chan… This mood is so tense!" Masaomi whined before giving a deep sigh. He looked behind him to see Aoba pissed at Chikage who kept pestering him to come closer.

The journey continued its way that way for the next day and a half. As they entered the final mountain's base, all three instantly felt the sharpened atmosphere.

"You're right, bro. He does have a lot to spare." Masaomi grinned and felt something coming.

In a quick movement, Masaomi defended against something as Chikage moved to protect Aoba. Whatever attacked Masaomi didn't seem to cease, rather it relentlessly attacked and Masaomi couldn't see it. All he could do was feel where the attacks were coming from.

"Protect Aoba, Masaomi!" Chikage ordered and jumped into the fray by pulling Masaomi away from the fight. Without being able to protest, Masaomi was left behind with Aoba, who looked extremely pissed.

"Who the hell does he think he is?" Aoba growled and Masaomi noticed the dark of his eyes splitting. "I'm perfectly able of taking care of myself! And stop being taken by such simple tricks!" Masaomi ducked as the air broke and Chikage found himself in front of the two.

"Huh?" Chikage looked around confused but saw Aoba angry and grinned again.

"As expected of Mikado-sama's half brother." Masaomi chuckled lightly and looked over to the man who seemed not at all surprised by the group or the fact that Aoba had seen through everything. "So why the super warm welcome? We're going by the rules here and walking in instead of breaking through."

"Brother doesn't like guests. And we have already greeted you out." The man pointed to Chikage and fixed his clothes a bit. His formal clothing didn't seem to match with the outdoors but he came closer with a slow pace.

"Sorry, but I have a proper boss here with me to ask for an audience." Chikage laughed and slightly hid behind Aoba with his hands on Aoba's shoulders to support his words.

"Let go you useless guard." Aoba smacked Chikage's hands but the other simply stood behind him quietly. As he looked over to the man who had attacked them, he spoke formally. "My name is Kuronuma Aoba, head retainer to Lord Ryugamine Mikado."

"Never heard of him." The man quickly said after Aoba presented himself and saw all three glare at him.

"Mikado-sama may be a small lord but he still lives nearby!" Masaomi screamed and heard Chikage chuckle and Aoba sigh.

"Four mountains away isn't near, Kida Masaomi." Aoba told him with a glare.

"Only if you're walking." Masaomi replied with a pout and heard the sigh coming from the other side.

"Is this important?" The man asked and received three serious nods in reply. "Very well, brother wishes to know what you're interested in so your audience has been granted. Follow me."

With a silent cheer, all three began following the man through the woods. The slightly tense atmosphere bothered Masaomi but the fact remained that he and the others would possibly manage to fulfill their mission. That alone made him smile, despite how Aoba and Chikage fought behind him.

After a while, they reached a set of shrine gates and stairs. Masaomi seemed amazed by it while Aoba remained calm and Chikage simply focused on Aoba. Once they reached the top, there was a larger gate in front of the shrine behind it. The man nodded to them and walked through the middle of the large gate, disappearing in the process.

"As expected of a bigger lord. They're so flashy." Masaomi said and went in through the middle of the gate, much like the man did.

"Don't lag behind, Rokujou Chikage." Aoba warned Chikage and passed through as well.

"Of course, my lovely Aoba!" Chikage cheered and followed Aoba through finally reaching the true shrine they were headed to.

Once through, both Aoba and Masaomi nearly gaped at the large shrine in front of them. Chikage had already seen it once so he wasn't impressed, but just slightly offended.

"By the way bro, how far did you get before the lord here kicked you out?" Masaomi asked curiously and followed the silent man past the path to the shrine and the stone lanterns.

"I got in and thrown out immediately. I did say he had a lot to spare, right?" Chikage joked and received a strong blow from Aoba but his comment was heard by the silent man, who stopped in his tracks.

"A lot to spare? You're here to borrow mana?" His voice seemed slightly cold and Masaomi moved back with Chikage, just behind Aoba as if using him as a shield.

"Whether or not we get to borrow is up to your lord, is it not? Besides, we are following the rules here in order to ask for an audience. You do not have the proper authority to negate the rules." Aoba defended their purpose with enough logic to cause the man to back down and continue leading them. Masaomi gave a deep sigh of relief as they could have been lost without a guide.

As they neared the main hall, Masaomi noticed the lack of guardians for this shrine, considering it was of a highly ranked lord. He tried to get an answer out of the silent man but the other refused to give him anything. Chikage simply smiled at Masaomi while Aoba completely ignored the situation. Once inside the shrine, Chikage couldn't help himself from making mental comparisons and received a glare from Aoba. Masaomi also thought it was huge but preferred something smaller.

"This way. Brother is waiting for you." The man spoke softly and opened the doors to the most important room in the shrine, the audience chamber. In the far back, a blond man sat on the floor, smoking a pipe. His features were very noble looking but his face seemed tough. The four tails behind him only served to remind the three that they were in the presence of a very powerful being.

"This them, Kasuka?" The blond asked, looking in their direction as they all came forward. Once close enough, the three sat down before him as politely as they could.

"Greeting, my lord. My name is Kuronuma Aoba, head retainer to Lord Ryugamine Mikado." Aoba presented himself and expected the same reaction that the other gave them but it never came. It was as if the blond man didn't care at all. "The two behind me are Kida Masaomi to my left and Rokujou Chikage to my right. They are the guardians to Mikado-sama."

"So why's the head retainer and two guardians here to see me? Given your response, I will decide how to discard you." There was no malice in his words, just simple facts and that alone made them shiver slightly in fear. Plus the fact that the blond didn't seem care enough to present either him or his retainer.

But Aoba gulped and stood his ground. "We have come here to request a favor from my lord." Aoba hoped this would go well. He wanted to return home as quickly as possible.

"Favor? What kind of favor would require a head retainer and not his lord's presence before me?" The blond seemed angry but had yet to stand up. He had yet to deem them worthy enough.

"We humbly request to borrow mana from my lord." At these words, all three gave the blond a deep bow, failing to notice how angry the blond seemed to be.

"Why the fuck should I even listen? And what the fuck happened to your lord that he needs to ask for mana from another lord?" He sounded very serious and it was Masaomi who responded this time.

"Exactly four days ago, our shrine was broken into and as embarrassing as it is, neither I nor Chikage-san noticed the intruder. He penetrated the center of our lord's domain and robbed Mikado-sama of nearly all his mana. This caused one of his souls to disappear, while the second remains asleep. For this reason, we are requesting a favor from my lord. Please help save Mikado-sama." Masaomi fully bowed, hoping that the blond would take pity on them.

"I don't gain anything from this, why should I help?" He asked them and waiting for an answer. Chikage provided one this time.

"The culprit is a man-made tengu. He's been pilfering various lords in the vicinity and I suspect he will come here. I have heard my lord does not take kindly to strangers as you proved to me earlier but I feel I should warn that this one…"

"Silence." With one word, Chikage shut up and kept quiet. "I've heard rumors about this so-called tengu. And I'm perfectly capable of handling my own affairs. I don't need you warning me of anything." His voice now sounded extremely menacing and all three could not help but hold their breaths.

However, the silence was broken by another voice. "Oh really, my lord? Then you've known me to be here this entire time?" They all looked up to the stranger, who simply smiled all the rest in the room.

"You accursed bastard! Hand over Mikado-sama's mana!" Aoba screamed and nearly jumped towards the stranger if not for Chikage, who held him back.

"Calm down Aoba. This isn't our domain and don't look at me like that. I know how you feel." His tight grip served to reinforce his words and Aoba calmed down a bit.

"What do you want intruder?" The blond asked, ignoring how Kasuka had stood up to guard him.

"I think your guest have made that pretty clear, my lord. I want your mana." The intruder laughed to himself and dropped down to the floor, the feathers on his cape moving softly behind him.

"You may have stolen that small lord's mana, but you'll find me to be more difficult." The blond stood up and continued to hold the pipe in his hand.

"I think not." The intruder spoke from behind the blond with a wide grin on his face. However, before he could attack the blond, he found himself taking a blow from someone.

"I'm not letting you escape again. Now return Mikado-sama's mana to us this instance." Masaomi spoke from right next to the blond, having moved quickly to attack.

"Brat, did you try to defend me?" The blond looked insulted but Masaomi answered quickly and without hesitation.

"No way! This is for Mikado-sama's sake!" With those words, Masaomi tried to attack the intruder but the other disappeared from his view and stood where he had originally appeared from. "What the…?" Masaomi was confused and looked up at the intruder.

"I see. I guess you're pretty strong. I'll have to rethink my strategy." The intruder seemed to be in deep thought until he grinned once more. "I know! I'll take the remaining mana from that little lord! He was pretty yummy! After all, there are very few purebred lords anymore." With those words, the intruder disappeared.

"Kida Masaomi, Rokujou Chikage, we're leaving!" Aoba took out a paper charm that aided him in leaving the area in order to arrive outside of the shrine.

"Then good day to you both." Chikage bowed politely and disappeared from view as well, followed by Masaomi.

"Kasuka, we're going as well." The blond said and threw his pipe back with a glare in his place. "That intruder disrespected me greatly. I think it's time to teach that brat some manners."

"Of course brother." Kasuka nodded and followed his brother out of the shrine, catching up to the three very easily. Not caring about the change in their appearances, Kasuka spoke to Masaomi. "Be pleased brother doesn't like intruders. Looks like you might have your revenge on that tengu soon."

Masaomi, who now had a pair of horns on his head, grinned widely to Kasuka, who now bore a pair of fox-like ears and two tails behind him. "Thanks. Now, I'd actually like to know your names. If you think it proper, anyways."

"Shizuo." Shizuo, whose ears and fours tails carefully avoided hitting anything, spoke with a serious gaze. "And that's Kasuka, my younger brother and head retainer of my domain."

"Thank you, my lord, for your good show of faith." Chikage, who bore only one horn, much larger than Masaomi's, in the middle of his forehead, smiled at the two and continued at Aoba's pace.

"Don't you idiots fall behind, I'm picking up the pace!" Aoba, whose pair of cat ears and two tails seemed completely normal on him, screamed to the two behind him, not yet realizing Shizuo and Kasuka were with them.

As they ran ever faster to meet their destination, the sun had begun to set when they finally arrived at a lake. Aoba jumped towards the steps in front of a shrine gate inside the lake. Passing through the gate, he never looked back to check whether the others followed him.

"So small." Shizuo immediately said when he was on the other side. The road to the shrine was a board walk and the lanterns were part of the décor by coming from the water.

"We know it's small!" Masaomi and Chikage yelled in unison with a heartbroken look before petting the guardian statues on the way to the incredibly small shrine.

"Shut up back there." Aoba silenced the two and opened the door to the shrine, revealing a kotatsu and five cushion seats.

"When will we get to eat here with everyone again?" Masaomi sighed sadly and walked over to the other side of the room. Once he opened the door, there was a flight of stairs. "It's this way. It looks like Anri-chan's defenses are working like a charm."

"Anri-chan's the head of security here. Technically, she's our boss." Chikage explained with a grin and followed Aoba down the stairs after the other finally took a step to continue. The cat boy had been in thought while looking at the kotatsu.

As they descended, Shizuo looked around at the lamps on the walls with curiosity and Kasuka remained quiet as he had the whole time. Eventually, Masaomi opened the sliding door at the end to reveal a tower-ish structure that continued down. The hallway was small and the middle of the tower was empty with various wood planks that covered a direct fall to the bottom. All the walls looked like paper yet they emitted a picture of an underwater scene that seemed very unrealistic.

"Well, I'll be heading down to see Anri-chan! You can lead everyone, right?" Masaomi grinned and jumped down from the edge, disappearing from their sights in a second.

"Useless bastard." Aoba muttered and looked back. "Don't get lost my lord. Please follow me closely." He politely said to Shizuo and began walking hastily through doors, staircases and a series of hallways without checking to see if Shizuo or Kasuka were following him.

After what seemed to be a long road, they finally arrived at the bottom. Shizuo stared at the gazebo in the middle of a small garden. The garden stood in the clearing of the tower, beneath all the wooden planks that shielded the upward view. Without getting a word in, Aoba walked around the garden and entered another room. This one reminded both Shizuo and Kasuka of their shrine's audience chamber, if not for the fact that there was nothing but a pool at the end of the long room.

"Anri-chan! Smile for me! Please! You're scary when you're angry!" Masaomi pleaded to the girl in the kimono with a pale look on his face. The girl held a sheathed katana in her grasp and was sitting down very formally on the floor while ignoring Masaomi's pleas.

"We're back Anri-chan." Chikage smiled at the girl as soon as he was near enough. This also allowed Shizuo and Kasuka to notice the boy inside the pool. "That guy hasn't penetrated your defenses it seems."

"Correct." Anri spoke coldly and both Masaomi and Chikage felt a shiver down their spine.

"Anri-chan, please don't be mad at us anymore…" Masaomi pleaded but sat sadly next to her, hoping she would cheer up. However, that didn't occur anytime soon and Aoba decided to ignore them all by walking closer, stopping just short of the edge.

"Now what the hell am I supposed to do? The only reason I came here was because of that flea. If he doesn't breach your defenses, they I can't punish him for disrespecting me." Shizuo glared at them all, looking as though he would punish the ones in front of him instead of the intruder from last time.

"He'll come. That guy has a disgusting aura on him. I could he truly wanted Mikado-sama." Aoba spoke, not showing his deep hatred for the intruder to the rest.

"We'll stop him this time Aoba." Chikage tried to comfort the boy but quickly felt the dangerous aura coming from behind them and ducked his body with Aoba's. "Anri-chan?" He looked back to see the girl with her katana drawn out.

"Intruder confirmed. I will proceed to execute." Anri spoke calmly and the air above the pool broke to reveal the intruder.

"Oh my. You have a really dangerous thing there." The intruder grinned and jumped away from her range of attack. "I didn't see you last time I was here. And you have a high quantity of mana too…"

"Don't you dare touch Anri-chan either!" Masaomi stood in front of the girl and jumped to attack the intruder but he simply avoided the attack with a smile.

"How simplistic are your attacks. I wonder, why did you get chosen to protect this little lord anyways? That just makes him seem so pitiful, don't you think? After all, he is a purebred." The intruder grinned and was thrown back against the wall by something he had not seen or felt.

"Are you done yet, intruder? You owe me respect for coming into my domain without following the rules." Shizuo let out a puff of smoke from his pipe while taking a step forward. His glare was serious and he had all the intentions of a murderer.

"Looks like I might have it harder this time. Time to retreat." The intruder grinned and tried to escape, but felt a deep charge of electricity cursing through his body and causing him to fall again. "What the…?" He was confused but noticed Aoba and Kasuka reciting words that he realized were part of a binding spell.

"You will not escape a second time, intruder." Shizuo growled and quickly punched through the intruder, seeing him disappear. What remained in his hands now was a small sphere of light. "Here. This is your master's, right?" He spoke nonchalantly and threw the sphere to Aoba.

With a slightly pale look, Aoba growled at Shizuo after catching the sphere and walked over to the sleeping boy. Smiling, he placed the orb on top of the sleeping boy and watched it slip through the body. The other three came closer, watching with anticipation as the pool lit up with a soft light and the boy opened his eyes. A pair of cat ears and two tails appeared n his body as he sat up and allowed Aoba to help him get on his feet.

"Mikado-sama!" Masaomi yelled happily and tackled the boy, followed by the other two guardians who looked very relieved to see him awake.

"Hello everyone." Mikado smiled towards all four and looked over to Shizuo and Kasuka with a surprised look. "Shizuo-niisan?"

"Eh?" All four looked from Mikado to Shizuo and back to Mikado again. "You know this one? Heck, why didn't he help you then from the start? He said he didn't know you!" Masaomi pouted and was silenced by Anri's blade.

"You're a purebred lord so start acting like it. I won't save your hide next time." Shizuo spoke and disappeared from their sights.

"Good day, young lord. We'll see you in a few years then." Kasuka bowed and followed after his brother.

"Hold on, what the hell?" Chikage was confused and looked over to Aoba for answers.

"Even I'm confused. What's going on Mikado-sama?" Aoba asked the boy curiously and saw him chuckle ever so slightly.

"Um… This is something that happened way before you came to get me out of father's place, Aoba-kun." Mikado started explaining. "Back when only Anri-chan was by my side, Shizuo-niisan and Kasuka-niisan visited father a lot and I got to know them both. But I was still a kid so I wasn't allowed to say my name to them."

"Ah, that's why that guy said he didn't know you." Chikage somehow understood and nodded to himself.

"So why did the other say they'll see you in a few years?" Masaomi asked curiously now that Anri had retreated her blade and saw Mikado blush. "Eh? Don't tell me… That's who your father set you up with? Man, that's a seriously screwed up relationship!"

"Tch. Guess I can't do anything about it." Aoba grumbled and began to walk away.

"Aobachin is jealous. How cute… I'll go cheer him up!" Chikage grinned and followed after Aoba without care of his future injuries.

"Masaomi, can you make sure Aoba-kun doesn't kill Chikage-san? It wasn't easy getting a second guardian for a remote shrine like ours." Mikado asked nicely with a soft smile in place.

"Alright but I resent that 'remote shrine' comment! I grew up here, remember?" Masaomi pouted and went after the two that had left.

Once they were alone, Mikado turned to Anri with a worried look. "What did father say when you went to visit him last time?" He asked her softly.

"He allowed a second proposal by the man-made tengu. This was a test to see how well he matched you and if Shizuo-sama would be a better partner or not. I do not have the results of this test however." Anri reported calmly and saw Mikado frown. "I will protect you no matter what Mikado-sama."

"Thanks Anri-chan." Mikado sighed and gave her a smile but quickly looked serious. "If this is a test from father then I'm sure that man will not have succumbed so easily to Shizuo-niisan. Father never liked Shizuo-niisan after all. We'd better make preparations." With those words, Anri nodded and stepped out of the room with Mikado.

"Oh, man. Pairing up with you will be the most fun I've experienced in a while. I'll have to thank that lord for this chance to see what you know, Mikado-kun." The low voice of the intruder chuckled through the walls of the room until its voice disappeared. It would be some time before he was heard from again.

**End**

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Sissy: Finally! Wah, this took me way too long to finish and about halfway through, I had no idea where I was heading with this. So I decided to leave it like so. A sort of mystery, I guess. But you got to know a bit about all the characters I guess. Mikado didn't get to do much though (fail) and for those that didn't get it, the tengu was Izaya. Oh, but now that I've finished this, I'll be posting 7 tomorrow since it's been done for a while. I can give back story on my take of the characters if anyone's interested ('cuz I doubt this'll have a second part anywhere).


	7. White cage

**Title:** White cage**  
By:** Sissy

**Pairings**: ksizsz + msmk?**  
Warnings:** T!chapter. Based on this video: www. youtube. com/ watch?v=Vi0kUSIw1Ik (erase the spaces to go to the link). Major OOC. Angst?

* * *

In front of him there were only white curtains. He couldn't see anything at all and continued walking around, despite the feeling of being lost in a forest. But there was something else. He felt that the end was near, somewhere.

He was correct.

Nearly tripping over a chair, he noticed there was a round table in front of him with five chairs surrounding it. He looked around and noticed the beds surrounding the table, each behind layers of the white curtains. Walking around the table and passing by one of the beds, he found a two-door window hanging in mid air. However, he could not see through it or around it.

"Ah, there's someone there." A perky voice spoke up behind him and he saw a blond boy walking over to him. "Hiya! Do you know how to get out of here?" The newcomer asked with a smile but he shook his head in response. He really didn't know.

"I only just got here." He replied to him, turning around to face the window again. "I found this too."

"Oh! That's pretty cool! Wonder why it's like that?" The blond boy glanced at the strange window curiously. "Ah, my name's Masaomi." He smiled to him and waited for the normal response.

"Oh. Nice to meet you. I'm Mikado." With that, Masaomi put his arm around Mikado's shoulder and grinned widely.

"That's the way! We gotta get to know each other before anything, right?" Masaomi winked and heard footsteps behind them both. They returned to the round table and saw an older man come in with this deadpan expression, followed by an older blond who seemed distressed but then looked confused.

"Hello." The deadpan said with a slight bow. He seemed to be courteous at least. "I'm Kasuka."

"Masaomi. And this is Mikado. You guys get lost in here too?" Masaomi asked them both and they nodded. Then, with the same smile he gave Mikado, Masaomi turned to the blond. "And you are?"

"Ah, Shizuo. Where is this place?" The blond man asked curiously while looking around. "I remember running after my brother… My brother?" He stopped and wondered about what he had been doing.

"Actually, I don't remember how I got here either. Only that by the time I realized it, I was in the middle of those curtains." Masaomi spoke, trying to help the situation by explaining his own and both Mikado and Kasuka agreed with him. "Huh? Who's that?" He looked behind Shizuo to see a grinning man.

"Um, could we have your name?" Mikado asked shyly but the man looked like he was trying to stop a laughter from sounding out.

"Hey!" Shizuo yelled at the man, who now looked calmer.

"Oh, sorry, sorry." He apologized to them with a grin. "It's just that when I found myself in the middle of the curtains I thought I was in Heaven and there might be virgins waiting for me but then I thought; that isn't my religion. So I couldn't stop myself from laughing when I saw you four." The man explained and left all four confused.

"We're dead?" Masaomi was the first to ask and sat down in one of the chairs. Mikado and Kasuka followed silently while Shizuo remained on his feet.

"Whoever said that? Maybe we've just been transported to some sort of jail." The man said with a smile and walked over to them, stopping just next to Shizuo. "Name's Izaya and I refuse to accept that Heaven's with you four."

Masaomi was the first to reply to that comment while Shizuo glared at Izaya. "That's extremely rude! I wouldn't want Heaven to be this either. There should be more girls!" At that, Mikado snorted and stopped himself from laughing.

"There would have to be girls here to begin with for you to say that Masaomi-kun." Mikado smiled and turned to Izaya, "I'm Mikado. Nice to meet you Izaya-san."

"But Mikado, you're as cute as a girl." Masaomi joked with a smile and poked Mikado's cheek. "I'm Masaomi, if you hadn't figured out."

"Kasuka." Kasuka presented himself with a slight bow and stared at the two teens curiously.

"I'm Shizuo. And for some reason, you're seriously pissing me off." Shizuo said, lightly growling at Izaya.

"So, does anyone remember how they got here?" Izaya asked and received four head shakes. "Then what's the last thing you guys remember before coming here? 'Cuz by head's a blank on that part." He grinned and walked over to one of the empty chairs next to Kasuka, followed by Shizuo, who took the last chair in between Izaya and Masaomi.

"I don't remember either." Masaomi pouted, a bit angry to have that particular thing reminded to him by someone he only just met. But if he stopped and calmed himself he would have realized that anyone of the others could have realized that and said it first.

"I have a feeling I knew what I was doing until I got here. But I can't remember either." Shizuo scowled and tried to think but came up short as well.

"Then what should we do in the meantime? Trying to remember seems to get us nowhere." Mikado was the first to ask, though his voice wasn't as loud as he hoped.

The rest looked at him and tried to think. None of them seem to come up with a solution. They needed to do something but they didn't know what. Everything was hazy in their minds. How they got there, why they were there, how could they leave, what happened before they got there, and what they needed to do to leave, were the main questions running through their minds. However, the more they thought about it, the more they came up with nothing.

With a sigh, Mikado was the first to stand up again. He walked away from the table and stood in front of the window once again. He thought that the answer might be there, but he couldn't see it.

"What's over there?" Izaya was the first to ask and Masaomi answered him. "Oh, really? I want to see that myself." He stood up, heading in Mikado's direction and they heard him exclaim in surprise about the window. Pretty soon, Shizuo and Kasuka stood up to see the thing as well.

But the luster of the window soon lost its charm to the three older males and they returned to the table. Masaomi yawned and decided to sleep a bit in the meantime while Shizuo left to wander around the area. Kasuka and Izaya remained alone in the table so they talked for a bit.

"Kasuka-kun, do you remember anything else? About your life?" Izaya began the conversation.

"I had a job. I liked it too." Kasuka replied without smiling, though he felt happy. "There were some difficulties about it. I think it had to do with someone I cared about."

"Ah, you were in love?" Izaya grinned and saw Kasuka take some time in nodding. It seemed he wasn't too sure about his own answer. "I feel the same. I had someone I loved. But I think there was something wrong with our relationship. It wasn't going too well."

"That's too bad. What was she like?" Kasuka asked as he tilted his head to the side.

"Graceful and pretty but…violent?" Izaya tilted his head to the sides in a confused manner. "I think this place is messing with our memories. My lover wasn't happy with me, I think."

"I feel the same. My memory is hazy in a lot of important parts." Kasuka nodded in agreement and saw Shizuo return with a frown.

"I tried walking in a straight line, but it looks like I ended up back here." He said and sat down on one of the chairs again. As he completely ignored the two, he slumped down and rested his head on the table. Izaya looked at Kasuka with a small grin and shrugged.

With that, the conversation the two had died out. In the meantime, Masaomi had woken up and dragged the bed sheet with him as he walked over to Mikado.

"Mi-ka-do!" He slightly yelled with a grin and covered Mikado with the bed sheet; effectively scaring the boy who looked back to him surprised.

"Don't do that! I nearly jumped out of my skin!" Mikado gave a sigh but smiled nonetheless. "Masaomi, you know, you remind me a lot of a friend of mine. He was as energetic as you are."

"Was? He died?" Masaomi asked confused, not removing the bed sheet from them.

"I don't think he did. But it's been a long time since I've seen him." Mikado tried smiling but quickly frowned as he stared at the window again. "I think I was left behind. It's been a long time since then." _Has it?_, Mikado wondered to himself, not sure of the time he had been speaking of.

"Don't worry! You've got me now! And Kasuka-san and Shizuo-san and even Izaya-san! We're all here with you, you know!" Masaomi grinned as he tried to make Mikado feel better. Something told him he should. And besides, he knew he was a cheerful person.

"What are you looking at?" Shizuo asked curiously to Izaya, who snickered and pointed to the two teens. "The kids? What about them?"

"Don't you think it's nice to be young? Not a real care in the world. Those two are already getting along well." Izaya replied and decided to take a walk for a while. He wanted to see if what Shizuo was true.

So for a while longer, Masaomi and Mikado stayed that way, until Izaya came back and got the two to come back to the table. Kasuka had decided to sleep and Shizuo was trying to tear one of the curtains but no matter how much he pulled, it wouldn't budge.

"It's too bad. Kasuka-kun and I were making friends while you two did the same. Oh, Shizuo-kun, what about you? Do you have someone you love?" Izaya turned around and looked over at Shizuo, who seemed startled for a second before going into thought.

"I was going out with someone. But I was only trying to cheer that person up since they were heartbroken recently. I don't think we were compatible anyways." Shizuo replied honestly before heading back to the curtain he was trying to pull down.

Masaomi gave a sigh before leaning into the table. "Adult love seems complicated. Why go out with someone if you weren't truly in love with each other? To me, it makes no sense."

"Well, you said it. It's complicated, Masaomi-kun." Izaya grinned and ruffled the teen's hair. "Sometimes that's the only way to love someone. Especially if you care about them."

"But doesn't it hurt the person who's doing the caring? A relationship like that is doomed from the moment either of them think of it." Mikado suddenly spoke up seriously and all three looked at him. "Oh, I'm sorry. I just said what came to my head without thinking." He apologized and lowered his head.

"No, I agree Mikado-kun. Shizuo-kun must've been in pain too." Izaya smiled and ruffled Mikado's hair this time. "Should we wake up Kasuka-kun? Though with what we remember, we might end up running out of topics so never mind."

"I'm going back to the window." Mikado suddenly said and left the table before anyone could stop him.

"I'll take another walk. Maybe I'll find a curtain I can rip out or…" Shizuo started speaking as he walked away so the rest of whatever he had meant to say was never heard by the two that were left.

Izaya pulled back and stretched his arms as he yawned. "So, who does Mikado-kun remind you of? I doubt it's simply you two being young that drove you to speak to him."

"Is it that obvious?" Masaomi asked and glanced in the direction he knew Mikado to be. "I abandoned someone I loved because of a fight. But I can't even remember what it was about. How stupid, right?" He saw Izaya shake his head but continued talking. "Mikado has nothing to do with that. But being with him calms me down. I don't think it's that he reminds me of my girlfriend, rather…"

"You feel guilty for abandoning her so you're caring for Mikado-kun instead, right?" Izaya asked with a grin and saw Masaomi frown.

"You might be right. I can't even say it's true. It's just… With the way things are right now, right here, it might be better to just do something than nothing at all, right?" Masaomi glanced at Izaya, hoping for something from the other.

"I guess. Sorry, I don't want to give you any false hope or information. I don't remember things either." Izaya smiled and saw Masaomi walk away to one of the beds. With a sigh, he murmured to himself. "I don't want to think too much either way…"

Shaking his head, Izaya decided to walk away for the moment, passing by Shizuo, who looked irked again. He probably walked around in another circle.

As Shizuo decided to take a nap, he met with Kasuka and Masaomi. The younger blond looked depressed by what Izaya had said to him and he explained to both what happened after Shizuo sat down on the bed with them. Once he had finished explaining, Shizuo and Kasuka tried to cheer up the boy by thinking up other things.

"I think we all have some sort of love problem. Maybe that's what led us here together." Kasuka explained without speaking too much of Izaya's matter. He didn't want to talk about someone else's matter behind their back.

"But I don't think Mikado has love problems. He doesn't look the type. Or maybe he was in love with his best friend?" As Masaomi said that, he felt a blush on his face. That was a risky and forbidden love! _Dangerous! I never pegged him for that type. Though then again, I don't know him at all, do I?_ Masaomi thought to himself with a slight grin.

"You also had love problems, Kasuka?" Shizuo ignored Masaomi for a second and turned to Kasuka.

"Oh, yes. Shizuo-san, you as well?" Kasuka asked curiously and received a nod from Shizuo.

"But maybe that's just normal. People eventually fall in love at some point so having that sort of problem isn't really unique. Don't worry too much about it, Masaomi." Shizuo grinned and startled Masaomi out of his thoughts.

"Eh? Oh. I guess… But why is it that this particular topic is clearer in my mind? If I think about other stuff, like hobbies, family, school, my mind draws a blank." Masaomi explained, feeling a headache forming.

"Izaya-san thought that it might be this place and I feel like I should agree with him." Kasuka said and nodded to himself.

"Then I'll just ignore it for the moment." Masaomi said and grinned, taking a hold of the hands next to him before falling back on the bed. "It feels like a family…" He murmured before falling asleep.

Both Shizuo and Kasuka looked down at Masaomi with a smile and turned their attention to the hand that held theirs tightly. _There was a ring_, they both thought at the same time.

"Can I tell you something?" Shizuo spoke up with a slight frown. Whatever he was thinking of seemed difficult to say. But once he saw Kasuka's nod, he continued. "I couldn't say it in front of Masaomi, but there's something else I slightly remember. I have a brother. Or had. I can't remember that part. All I can remember is that I wanted to protect him but wasn't able to." _You remind me of him_, he bit back the words in fear.

"Maybe we're all scared of something. Or there's someone we've left behind in pain, whether it was because of love or friendship." Kasuka said softly and laid on the bed next to Masaomi. "It does feel like a family." He smiled and felt Shizuo rest on the bed as well.

"I guess… You might be right. But it feels different too. The reason why we're here, I mean." Shizuo clarified and scratched the tip of his nose with his free hand.

As all three fell asleep, they failed to notice that Izaya had been watching them. He returned with the same feeling Shizuo had so he felt like doing something else when he just stood there and overheard the conversation the three had.

"You've been looking at him all this time." Mikado's voice surprised him and he looked back to see the boy. "Would you like to talk about it?" He felt like he should help but Izaya shook his head and so Mikado returned to the window.

Once he watched him leave, Izaya realized something so he followed after Mikado. "Who did you say I was looking at?" He asked once he was close enough.

"I didn't. But I thought you were paying close attention to Kasuka-san all this time. Your gaze said so. Was I wrong?" Mikado asked as he looked back at Izaya, who sat down on the bed in front of the mirror. This once was a size bigger than the rest.

"You weren't." Izaya replied honestly. "After I heard Shizuo-kun, I started to think about my memories. I was heartbroken so I sought a lover out. That person's brother to be exact." He added but Mikado remained quiet. "Maybe that's why my earlier memory was different when I said it out loud. I was remembering two people as the same one."

Izaya lowered his gaze. "I was in love with that person but it couldn't work out. And my new lover and I weren't fully getting along. We were having a hard time connecting. He started to hate me. I'm not even sure he loved me to begin with."

"I wasn't in love with my best friend." Mikado suddenly spoke up, surprising Izaya. It seemed as though he was going to ignore Izaya's comments. "But I was left behind and being alone was scary so I wanted someone who could love me. Kasuka-san might be right about why we're here." He walked over and hugged Izaya.

_We're both afraid_, they thought at the same time.

Suddenly a gust of wind blew past them, moving all the curtains at the same time. Mikado looked up, along with Izaya, and tried to make sense of what was happening. They looked towards the window and saw something red stuck on it.

Mikado separated from Izaya and walked over to it. It looked like a piece of ribbon so he told hold of it. Immediately, he saw something in the back of his mind.

_I was in the middle of the streets. It was another lonely day. That's when I heard something loud above me. I looked up and saw something heading right for me. I froze as my mind wondered what it could be. Then I heard someone call out my name. It was a familiar voice. I felt someone tackling me and then… Everything went black._

"Oh." Mikado simply said as the string moved itself to wrap his wrist. He turned around and smiled at Izaya. "I'm sorry Izaya-san. I'll be leaving first." He apologized as tears fell down his face.

"What do you mean by that, Mikado-kun?" Izaya asked, standing up but another gust of wind blew him back. This time, it had come from the window that had now opened. When Izaya finally looked up, he didn't see Mikado at all and the window was closed as well.

Something felt terribly odd and he ran over to the three sleeping men and noticed the red ribbon on Masaomi's wrist, much like the one on Mikado.

"Hey! Wake up!" Izaya shook the boy awake and noticed the tears that fell down from his eyes.

"I was fighting with her and went back home. It was a coincidence but I saw him in trouble. I just wanted to save him." Masaomi hid his tears with his hands and in the blink of an eye, he was gone.

Izaya fell down on the floor, completely confused by what had just happened. As he wondered what he should do, both Kasuka and Shizuo woke up and sat down next to him.

"Don't worry." They both spoke up at the same time. "I'm sorry I've hurt you. But I never hated you. Even though it was a misunderstanding, I still love you. I'm not mad. I never was. No matter what you did." Both Kasuka and Shizuo gave Izaya a kiss on the cheek and Izaya simply looked ahead without noticing that they had also left him behind.

Silently, he got up and walked back to the window. He wanted to wait for his turn, if it was even coming. Staring at the window, he thought he saw something and tried cleaning it. On the other side was mass destruction, but it looked like a room. Something had been destroyed.

_I don't want this! Not pity! Not love! I just want the suffering to end! For what reason was I abandoned? What do I have to do for you to love me again? You hate me, don't you? After all, this is what I've become!_

"I blew it up. Our apartment. The one the three of us had been living in." Izaya spoke softly, understanding it at last. "I see… They were caught up by mistake. Mine…"

There was a soft wind and he could hear laughter. With a saddened smile, he opened the window.

**End**

* * *

Sissy: Oh yes I did. (grin)(My tempo is super, super fast when it comes to the flow of a story, in case anyone's not noticed) Okay, so I cried a bit while writing the end. Honestly, I thought I had this "plot" figured out and then came the end. I do this a lot. Like something I see and re-invent it in a different way the original author did. I'm pretty sure the video has absolutely nothing to do with how this was written. I tend to think up strange things sometimes. People see pink, I see blue. Why is that?


	8. Gold is the color I love Graduation Ed

**Title:** Gold is the color I love _Graduation Edition_**  
By:** Sissy

**Pairings:** szms + izmk**  
Warnings:** M!chapter. school!AU. Continuation of drabble 2 (though you don't necessarily have to read the first). Eh, fluff and comedy? And senseless plot.

* * *

The train arrived at the station and all four got off with a slightly tired look. Both younger boys were the first to stretch and yawn as the ride had been long. The two older teens behind them smiled towards the two younger boys but stopped when they noticed the other was smiling and began glaring at each other.

As they walked out of the station, one of the boys stopped to ask for directions and received friendly replies. He quickly walked back and explained the location of where they were headed. Masaomi was the first to groan as their destination was up in a mountain.

"It's just like Kasuka-sempai to choose a far away location. Don't tell me, did he come here once for a shoot?" He asked the three behind him but was actually directing his question to one of them.

"He did. That's why he recommended it. Besides, you shouldn't get angry Masaomi. It's free lodge." Mikado replied with the same smile as always and they continued their trek.

After more than half an hour of walking, they finally reached the old-style inn. Technically, it was supposed to be a hot springs inn but Masaomi somehow doubted it. More like, he didn't know what exactly was waiting for them here.

"Relax Masaomi, it can't be bad. Kasuka chose it after all." Shizuo said with a smile as he placed a hand on his young lover's head.

"Why again was I invited?" Izaya asked, turning his attention to Mikado. "Though I can't complain about being out here with you Mikado-kun." He grinned at his kohai and received a quick punch from Shizuo.

"Don't think about anything weird. Kasuka just wanted to thank you for helping him out a few times, just like Ryugamine." He glared at the other, hoping to get one more punch in before they went into the inn.

Mikado simply laughed a bit and opened the inn's front door. He was welcomed by the inn keeper and they all checked in. Instead of having individual rooms, it seemed that Kasuka had booked two twin rooms for them, so despite some protest, Shizuo and Masaomi took one room while Izaya and Mikado took the other.

"This isn't funny, Orihara-sempai…" Mikado gave a deep sigh as he opened the door to his room.

"Well, it's not like you would intrude on the lovers' vacation and I'm never rooming with Shizu-chan so doesn't it work out?" Izaya grinned and dropped his arms around Mikado's shoulders. "Spending quality time with you is in my plans for this weekend anyways."

"But it's not going to go according to your plans." Mikado quickly escaped and saw Izaya jumping towards him like a cat attacking prey. With quick thinking, Mikado ducked and heard the loud crash of body against wall.

"Mikado, what happened?" He heard Masaomi's voice coming across the wall and smiled.

"Nothing. Orihara-sempai simply crashed against the wall." Mikado replied and failed to hear a response so he quickly proceeded to change clothes.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Masaomi was in deep shock as he tried to process the danger his best friend was in. After all, if he thought about it, he had just left Mikado alone with his "avid fan".

"I think he's okay. Ryugamine knows how to take care of himself when the situation requires it." Shizuo tried to reassure Masaomi but his younger lover still seemed a bit worried. "Hey, trust me." Whispering into Masaomi's ear, he quickly felt the younger boy fall to the floor.

"Shizuo-sempai, you straight arrow!" Masaomi quickly yelled, directing his angry yet red face at Shizuo.

With a soft smile, Shizuo simply walked over to the door of the room. "I'll go out for a while then. Go enjoy the hot springs with Ryugamine." He said and left the room silently.

Masaomi didn't know what to make of it until he heard screams and thuds coming from the next room before a small silence took over. That was soon replaced by a knock on his door. "Masaomi, have you changed already?" He heard Mikado's voice.

"Ah, give me a second!" Masaomi quickly replied and changed into the bathrobe with lighting speed before meeting Mikado in the hallway. "Sorry. You ready then?"

"Of course. And with Orihara-sempai out of the way for a while, it'll give us time to relax." Mikado seemed happy about that and dragged Masaomi with him to the first hot spring they found; a slightly open aired one with a gender division.

And like the energetic teenager he was, Masaomi quickly jumped in the moment he could. Mikado could only sigh at that motion and simply left Masaomi alone while he got in quietly. The moment he got a complacent sigh out of his mouth, Masaomi sneaked behind him and tickled his sides.

"M-Masaomi? W…what is it? You know I'm ticklish there…" Mikado gave a low whimper and saw his best friend sit next to him.

"Spill." Was the first word Masaomi uttered. "What's the deal between you and Orihara-sempai? I doubt your personality would tolerate him this long if there wasn't a reason for it."

"Hey, Masaomi…" Instead of answering, Mikado decided to counter with a question of his own. "Did you get Shizuo-san anything as a graduation present?"

As Masaomi was caught off guard, so was Shizuo, who had forcefully taken Izaya with him to look for food. It seemed as if Izaya had asked the same question, in reverse, but with an additional comment Shizuo didn't really need to hear at the moment.

"Oh, you're so innocent Shizu-chan!" Izaya laughed and took a step in the small restaurant next to the inn. "Table for two, please." He turned to the owner but saw the place empty so he simply took the first table by the entrance.

"Hold on, you damn flea…" Shizuo glared at Izaya but sat across from him in order to maintain some degree of calmness. "What the heck do you take this trip to be?"

"Isn't it obvious? I'm sure Kasuka-kun had the same idea as me." Izaya went into thought and gladly took the menu the waitress offered them. "It's a deflowering graduation trip." At those words, the waitress, who had begun to leave, nearly tripped and Shizuo had been left with a very beet red face. "Oh don't worry miss, it's not me and him." He turned to the waitress with a joking face but the misunderstanding would most likely be left anyways.

"Iiiizaaaayaaaa!" Shizuo was about to rip the table from the ground but was stopped by Izaya's sudden words.

"Oh, it's Kida-kun freshly out of the hot spring." At this, Shizuo turned around but saw nothing. "Now that you've calmed down, how about actually letting me eat since you dragged me away from Mikado-kun?"

With a low grumble and a piercing glare, Shizuo remained quiet for the rest of the meal. Though, while the two were in an awkward silence that scared the waitress the younger teens were entering their second hot spring, which accidentally ended up being a co-ed one.

"I think it'd be best if we leave, right?" Masaomi asked shyly as he looked over to the adult women with their partners.

"True." Mikado agreed and both quickly ran away as silently as they could in case anyone there felt the need to call out to them.

Taking a long hallway this time, they found an open air bath. Easing into the water, the pair continued their conversation.

"If you asked that, does that mean you actually bought something for Orihara-sempai?" Masaomi asked with a shy look on his face. The answer he had given Mikado earlier was an awkward one but the blond never obtained one in return as someone had gotten into the bath and interrupted them.

"Of course. If I hadn't, Izaya-san would've probably annoyed me even after he graduates." Mikado sighed deeply and failed to notice how Masaomi perked up.

"So now it's Izaya-san again? You call him that every so often, don't you? Fufu… You feel like answering whether or not you two are dating now?" Masaomi got closer and noticed his friend's face covered in a blush.

Before Mikado could answer, Izaya and Shizuo came into the air bath. "So this is where you two were! Oh? Are we interrupting anything? My my, isn't Shizu-chan enough for you Kida-kun? Though I must say I don't really enjoy you getting that close to Mikado-kun."

"You know, for a second, I swear he was going to say 'my Mikado-kun'. Don't you think so too, Mikado?" Masaomi completely ignored Izaya's comment and joked with Mikado, who tried to ignore them all.

"Stop messing around and get in!" Shizuo ignored Izaya's comment as well and kicked the other into the water.

"Hey now! That's abuse, Shizu-chan!" Izaya yelled once he got back up from the water and moved over to Masaomi, placing an arm around the blond's shoulder before speaking. "I honestly don't know what you see in that brute! If you feel any danger you're welcome to stay with me."

"Izaya-san!" Mikado yelled out before a punch nearly hit Izaya.

"Don't you dare get any closer to Masaomi!" Shizuo nearly tried to punch Izaya again before disappearing with Masaomi in his arms.

This left only Mikado to deal with Izaya, who was now grinning happily. "Did you plan that Izaya-san?" Mikado asked curiously as he watched his sempai get closer to him before the older wrapped Mikado in his arms.

"Maybe. But we're alone now so how about you tell me what you got me as a graduation present?" Izaya purred joyfully, awaiting a good response.

"Do…don't have it here…" Mikado answered shyly with a slight pout on his face that caused Izaya to poke his cheek. "What?" His gaze seemed distrusting of Izaya but Mikado had yet to pull away from his sempai.

"Liar. I'm pretty sure you have my present right…here." Izaya placed his hand on Mikado's lower half and surprised his kouhai so much he got elbowed in the stomach. "That…hurt…" He winced from the pain and saw Mikado turn around with worry.

"S-sorry Izaya-san!" He apologized first before looking angry. "But you shouldn't have done that."

"Aw, come on. Weren't you going to offer me your virgi…ugh!" Izaya fell again, this time into the water but Mikado quickly brought him out before he drowned. "You're hot and cold all the time but you still stay near me. When are you planning on being honest with me?"

"I'm always honest with Izaya-san. Are you not paying attention?" Mikado smiled and sat down on the edge of the spring. He seemed happy at his own comment and saw Izaya turned a bit to get closer to Mikado, stopping just in front of him.

"I'd prefer it if you just stick to words instead of action. Not that I mind actions." Izaya purred as he lay his head on Mikado's lap very comfortably.

"Then Izaya-san…" Mikado poked Izaya to get the sempai to look at him. With a smile, Mikado welcomed him with open arms, gaining a grin from Izaya. As Izaya got up, he slowly lowered Mikado's body on the cold floor and began to kiss him.

However, once Izaya got a moan from Mikado, the door to the spring was opened. Izaya quickly groaned and yelled at the incoming people, "Damn it! Gay sex starting here, go away!" This effectively scared whoever had come in and left Mikado holding in his laughter. "Stop laughing, we're continuing one way or another." Izaya quickly said and took Mikado's lips again.

So while Izaya made sure that Mikado and he had a good time, Masaomi tried his best to keep Shizuo happy by offering the same as Mikado.

With a soft moan, Shizuo and Masaomi separated, each with a blush on their face. "So…sorry… I think…" Masaomi apologized with quickly felt Shizuo hug him. "Shizuo-san?"

"You sure you want to do this?" Shizuo asked the boy with whisper.

Smiling, Masaomi returned the hug before replying. "I'm sure. Shizuo-sempai means this much to me so I want to convey it as much as I can to you in any way I can."

"Then I won't stop." Shizuo simply said before devouring Masaomi's lips.

With light touches, Shizuo slipped Masaomi out of his robe, letting it fall to the boy's side. Though Masaomi felt slightly embarrassed, he allowed Shizuo to touch him as he pleased. The older sempai started with his chest, simply caressing before he moved on to kissing and sucking.

"Nnn…" Masaomi moaned, holding onto Shizuo for support. All of a sudden, he felt his body being placed on the futons and looked surprised at Shizuo. "What are you…? Ah! Ahn… No… Stop… That's dir…ty…" He tried to stop Shizuo from taking his lower half but the older one wasn't planning on stopping anytime soon.

"You just got out of the bath, you can't get anymore clean you know." Shizuo reminded the boy before he felt a surge of liquid in his mouth. "Feel good?"

"Y-yes… But what about you Shizuo-sempai?" Masaomi wanted to give his lover the same feeling but was left gasping when he felt something coming inside. "What…what is that?"

"Sorry, it's my finger. I'm trying to prepare you as much as possible. I don't want you to be in pain." Shizuo apologized and continued sucking while his fingers slowly widened Masaomi's backside.

Very soon, Masaomi came again in Shizuo's mouth. However, this time he decided to make a move of his own. He sat up and came closer to Shizuo. "I want to make you feel good too." With an assertive gaze, Masaomi lowered his hand and reached Shizuo's manhood. Shizuo stopped his handwork for a moment at the feeling of Masaomi's hands but positioned the boy in his lap to make the process a bit smoother while he continued to make Masaomi less susceptible to the coming pain.

"Wait… Stop for a… Nngh!" Shizuo froze when he came in Masaomi's hands, effectively surprising his kouhai lover.

"S-sorry!" Masaomi quickly apologized but Shizuo took his lips instead. The kiss quickly deepened until Masaomi realized Shizuo was just embarrassed.

Soon enough, Shizuo stopped the kiss and faced Masaomi's gaze. "You ready now?" He asked softly and received a silent nod from Masaomi. With that agreement, Shizuo lifted Masaomi and slowly lowered him into position.

With silent tears and a tight grip on Shizuo's shoulders, Masaomi found himself completely taken by Shizuo. Then, without another word, Shizuo lowered Masaomi to the futon again and began to move.

"Ah… Nnn… Ah! Shizuo…sempai…" Masaomi called out for Shizuo as he nearly lost himself in pleasure. "Shizuo-sempai…"

"Masaomi…" Shizuo returned the calls and kissed Masaomi as the afternoon passed into the night before morning arrived once more.

The dining hall was excruciatingly silent and empty, except for Mikado and Izaya, who silently ate their breakfast. It seemed that the rest of the guests checked out sometime between yesterday and today, leaving only the four as the single guests in the whole inn.

"Morning…" Masaomi yawned as he slowly came into the hall with Shizuo, who was carrying him like a pillow. "There's no one else here?"

"No. Looks like everyone left when they heard something too embarrassing for them." Izaya grinned as if he had everything all figured out. Of course, the rest were too embarrassed to say anything about that. "Seriously, we all know what happened last night. So how was it Shizu-chan? Was Kida-kun up to your expectations?"

"Izaya-san, shut it!" Mikado quickly smacked Izaya before Shizuo got a chance to and continued with his breakfast.

One of the innkeepers came and brought Shizuo and Masaomi breakfast without a word yet Izaya noticed her blush and grinned. Hiding his laughter, he continued to eat until he was done. As he waited for Mikado to be done, he noticed how the rest were feeling awkward about the silence. Rolling his eyes, Izaya spoke up the moment Mikado finished his food.

"How about you and me go out today Mikado-kun? I'm sure there are a few things to see around here." Izaya suggested with a soft smile however, everyone in the room was suspicious of him.

Thinking it through, Mikado replied, "Fine. I guess."

"Good! Then let's go right now!" Izaya grabbed Mikado's hand and dragged him away.

Masaomi and Shizuo stared in shock and Masaomi was the first to say anything. "Okay, I don't trust him. Can we go after them?"

"Yeah." Shizuo agreed and hurried with his breakfast. Once they were both done, Masaomi tried to sit up but fell to the floor so Shizuo picked him up and ran after the two. After all, Izaya always seemed to have another plan in his mind, and he was Mikado's avid fan.

**End**

"Where is Izaya-san?" Kasuka asked Mikado once the younger kouhai met up with him for lunch.

"Back home. He's still sleeping." Mikado replied to him as he sat down with a smile.

"Then everything went okay during the trip?" Kasuka asked as he sipped his tea.

"Yes. Shizuo-san and Masaomi were pretty happy and Izaya-san settled down a bit. Of course, that didn't stop him from teasing those two during the whole trip but…" Mikado was remembering everything that happened as he asked the waiter for a menu.

"I take it then that he liked his present?"

"He did. Thank you for getting me that coat. Though he was more overjoyed at the key I hid in it rather than the coat per se." Mikado browsed through the menu and decided on something so he called the waiter over again.

"And brother? What did Kida-kun give him in the end?" Kasuka seemed curious but his gaze seemed the same as always.

"Oh, that." Mikado chuckled and got closer to Kasuka to say something. "Did you see the sunglasses Shizuo-san had when we came back?" With a nod from Kasuka, Mikado continued. "That's the second pair he got Shizuo-san. When he first gave the original one he got him, Izaya-san teased Shizuo-san too much and they got destroyed. So Masaomi and Shizuo-san went off to buy a pair together. I think it was part of Izaya-san's plan though."

"I'm glad. You all had a good time then." Kasuka nodded, looking somehow glad despite his face looking the same as always.

The waiter soon came with their food and both remained there until Izaya appeared to bother them. Mikado wasn't surprised that Izaya found them so easily but he was surprised when Masaomi showed up with Shizuo. Soon after, Shizuo chased after Izaya, leaving Masaomi to say the words that continued to bother him all the time, "You and Kasuka-sempai hang out a lot, don't you? How many things have you conspired like this?"

Mikado simply smiled at that and Kasuka continued to eat. Possibly, Mikado was more dangerous than Izaya, Masaomi simply thought to himself.

**Extra End**

* * *

Sissy: Yay, finally done with this one. Now I can continue on with other random plots I got. I'll double post this now instead of waiting for a while. (Nyanko wants love (and I don't mean love love), btw) Anyways, this ended up being more senseless that I originally intended. Just thought of giving the second drabble some smut and clear up the supposed izmk mystery but, meh…


	9. Not an adult but not a kid either

**Title:** Not an adult but not a kid either**  
By:** Sissy

**Pairings:** ckmk**  
Warnings:** T!chapter. Slightly based after vol6 so it's half-AU. Extremely short chapter.

* * *

Mikado walked along the path home like normal. He had just separated from both Anri and Aoba for the day. Yawning a bit, he thought about taking a nap before getting to work on his homework and buying his dinner. His parent's monthly allowance had just arrived so he hoped to splurge a bit by going out to eat instead of cooking. But before he could do that, first came his school work.

"Oh, if it isn't the boy leader!" The sudden voice surprised him and Mikado turned around to see the infamous Toranuma leader, Chikage, walking down his street. The odd thing was that not a woman was in sight. Mikado had at least heard the rumors. Usually, most often than not, Chikage was accompanied by a group of "girlfriends".

"I have a name Chikage-san." Mikado found himself scolding the older male, despite himself. Though when he realized he had spoken, Mikado lowered his gaze. "Ah, I'm sorry. I meant, please don't call me that, Chikage-san."

Of course, Chikage only found the sudden change in attitude hilarious. "You're seriously weird, kid. Are you sure you're really the leader of the Dollars?" He asked, coming closer to Mikado's ear. "You should seriously quit it. Your personality really doesn't match it."

"What does that mean?" Mikado turned to Chikage with a frown and tried to read the man's intentions.

"You're too naïve. If I had to say it more plainly, you're just a kid. What happens in your gang is an adult's world. Only for grown-ups." Chikage said it as plain and simple as he could think of. Even though he came off as mean and insensitive, he was actually worried about the boy.

But Mikado wasn't scared off. Instead, he looked directly at Chikage with determination. "I won't do as you say Chikage-san. No matter what anyone says, I started this so I'll be the one to fix the mistakes I've done." He was serious. Chikage could see that much.

"You're really interesting, boy. But I only wanted to say that to you. Take care now." Chikage grinned and turned around to leave. However, he was stopped when Mikado grabbed hold of his arms. Looking back at Mikado with a confused look, he saw that the boy had something to say.

"Also…" Mikado started and pulled down on Chikage, "I am not a boy, Chikage-san." He said before locking his lips with Chikage and proceeding to deepening the kiss. Chikage could do nothing as he was not only caught by surprise but utterly shocked. Once he knew he had enough, Mikado separated and said, "Please remember that." With that, he left the frozen Chikage and continued his trek home.

After catching his breath, Chikage grinned to himself and thought, "Yeah, I think I'll definitely remember that." Nodding, he walked the other way, away from Mikado's apartment, whistling a tune to himself for enjoyment.

**End**

* * *

Sissy: So I wrote the semi-plot to this while I went with my sis to do some errands (awful government-type errands with four hour waiting times) and decided, this will be short, only because I can. The whole point is that Chikage and Mikado really don't have too many interactions together so there's very little to go on, yet the prospect of this couple is just too cute to ignore. So yeah.


	10. Missing Ten

**Title:** Missing Ten**  
By:** Sissy

**Pairings:** forced!izao + one-sided!aomk**  
Warnings:** M!chapter. Aoba rape (meaning dark theme). If you think you've read this before, I'll explain the joke at the bottom.

* * *

There was only one knock on the door. Izaya didn't open it but had Namie do it instead. Aoba was on the other side, his eyes screaming 'bloody murder' right at Izaya. As he walked past Namie, the older woman took her leave without saying a single word. Work was done for the day so she didn't need to hang back for a second longer. And she didn't want to know what would happen next.

"Where is he?" Aoba yelled out the moment he was in front of Izaya's desk, his hands smacking said desk with force.

"And who might you be speaking of anyways?" Izaya asked slyly while facing his computer instead of Aoba. The information he was browsing through on a forum seemed more interesting to him than the teenager in front of him.

"Stop playing coy, I know you have him!" Aoba seemed determined to get the information but Izaya simply sighed and turned to face Aoba.

"And I'm asking who you mean. Seriously, there are so many males in this world for me to remember them all. So, which 'him' is it?" Izaya grinned, his eyes reflecting all the knowledge he owned.

"There's only one person I would be this distressed about and you know that! Now answer the question already, where's Mikado-sempai?" Finally having the name out of his mouth, Izaya began to laugh. Aoba stood in shock, not knowing what true motives this man could have.

"And what makes you think I know where Mikado-kun is? By this hour he should be home, don't you think so?" Izaya wiped away his tears and leaned back comfortably in his chair.

"But he's not! I was walking with him until just earlier! I saw that black van drive off and Mikado-sempai's bag on the floor! I know you took him! So where is he?" Aoba seemed to be one step away from trying to kill Izaya but he needed information first.

"That's a big accusation, especially coming from you Aoba-kun." Izaya said and turned slightly away. "But, I have heard about something relating to Mikado-kun. A few days ago, I mean. It could have something to do with why he's…gone."

That pause seemed extremely suspicious to Aoba who could not confirm his suspicions right at that moment. But, any piece of information he could obtain was important at the moment, especially if he wanted to find his missing person before sunrise.

"How much is it?" Aoba finally asked after thinking it through. It was dangerous ground he was walking into but it was necessary for him to take the first step.

"Oh, much more than your allowance can afford but…" Izaya glanced at Aoba and the boy felt his body shivering slightly because of it. "I'm sure you can think of an adequate alternative."

The silence felt heavy but Aoba knew what Izaya was insinuating and there was nothing he could do. Not if he truly wanted to find who he was searching for. But Aoba still felt conflicted. Only for a second though. With a gaze that could kill, Aoba didn't take his eyes off of Izaya as he began by taking off his jacket.

As Izaya turned again in order to face Aoba more comfortably, he ignored the boy's glare and simply watched how each piece of clothing fell to the floor. His tie, shirt, belt, shoes, pants and finally socks all fell, leaving Aoba in only his boxers. Like a young boy exposed to humiliation, Aoba covered his chest by crossing his arms uncomfortably.

"Well, there's one piece of clothing still missing but I'll forgive you for now." Izaya spoke and Aoba felt a bit of fear at that moment. However, the boy quickly discarded the feeling, in case Izaya caught it. Thankfully for him, he did not. "So, what will you do now that you're nearly naked?" It was meant to cox him into doing something wrong, taking a wrong step. But Aoba remained cool.

"How…" Biting his bottom lip, Aoba spoke up with a serious gaze. "How do you want it?"

Izaya scoffed and leaned back to take in the view. "Let's see… How about you jack off first? Let's see if you can get me in the mood?"

Nearly drawing blood, Aoba took off his last piece of clothing. It was his last line of defense and now he was completely exposed. Slowly, he drew his hands to his lower area and grabbed hold of the member Izaya had been referring to. He tried stroking it; however the offending member would not react.

"Come on now. Don't tell me you're not in the mood either? Shall I help you?" Izaya offered but received the glare in response. That didn't stop him from speaking again though. "Let's see… Imagine, if you'd like, your hands are not your own. They belongs to a black haired boy. He's got the bluest eyes you've set your own eyes on. Lips that would only belong to an untouched virgin. Hands as soft and clean as a well-kept child. Those hands, unsoiled from the materialistic world are now touching you. Softly, then harshly, as he's inexperienced."

As Izaya enjoyed his narration, Aoba could not help but hear the poisonous words and blushed, finally reacting. It frustrated him because he was imagining it. Especially the very person Izaya was describing. Because it was how he viewed the person he searched for. Whimpering, he fell to the floor and murmured while closing his eyes, "Mikado-sempai…"

"That tongue which has never muttered even a curse word, it's now lightly touching your tip. The red lips come together and they begin to suck." Izaya stood up without stopping and walked over to Aoba. Once he was close enough, he pulled the boy's head back to get a better look at his work. "They stop, inexperienced, and his tongue licks. Then sucking and licking again. His regularly cleaned teeth hitting your skin every so often, they feel every pulsation from your veins."

"Ah… No… Stop…" Aoba felt himself coming but his hand never stopped moving, almost in sync with Izaya's words.

"It doesn't matter how sloppy his work is, you love him and forgive him." Izaya's grin widened and he soon found himself slightly covered in liquid. "That was fast. But you know, Aoba-kun…"

Aoba opened his eyes and noticed Izaya's grin as the man's face came closer and covered his lips with his own. With weak strength, Aoba tried to push Izaya away but the other had a firm grip on him and gave little room for Aoba to move.

Separating from Aoba, Izaya continued to speak. "I'm not Mikado-kun so I'm not going to be kind." With those words, Izaya opened his pants with one hand while pulling Aoba closer with the other. Then he forced Aoba down on him. "Now how's about you really get me in the mood? And don't think about biting please."

Without having any options, Aoba opened his eyes and swallowed Izaya's manhood. He began doing the same things Izaya had spoke off just earlier in order to get him in the mood but he left room for errors. He didn't want to give Izaya the pleasure he sought. Unfortunately for Aoba, it was the worst decision he could make.

"Ngh!" Aoba nearly stopped breathing when Izaya forced his head further down, causing Aoba to have little room in his trachea for air. With tears beginning to form, Aoba began to suck and just tried to end everything already. Soon enough, Izaya came in his mouth, leaving Aoba coughing from taking in too much.

"Good boy. Now we can head to the main show." Izaya smiled and moved Aoba around until his bottom was facing Izaya. "And don't go fainting on me, okay?" With a sly smile, Izaya plunged in and took Aoba like a rag doll.

The boy tried to hold in his screams of pain. There had been no real preparation for him so now Aoba was left with a cut lip and blood flowing from both wounds. As seconds passed into minutes, Aoba hoped Izaya would finish soon. And that he did.

Without a word, Izaya got off of Aoba and walked over to his desk in search of his cell phone. Aoba remained limp on the floor, just waiting for something to happen. He knew he should get up and get dressed but the pain was too much.

"Hi, it's me…" Izaya spoke up energetically at his phone while walking up the stairs. Aoba couldn't hear his conversation no matter how hard he tried.

Eventually, he simply zoned out for what seemed like an hour until something damp fell on him. Surprised, he looked up to see Izaya grinning and noticed a towel was on him.

"Get cleaned. Looks like Mikado-kun is home so you can go check up on him. Whoever had him must have let him go. They didn't seem to be able to get the information they wanted from him." Izaya explained cryptically but Aoba was shocked nonetheless. Because this all seemed to be some secret plan Izaya had from the beginning.

"What…information was that?" Aoba asked, his voice seemingly tired though he had not screamed at all.

"Relating the Dollars and the Blue Squares. Someone managed to put two and two together it seems." Aoba couldn't confirm whether or not what Izaya spoke of was true. But if there was one thing he knew, it was to never trust the man.

So Aoba cleaned himself and got dressed. Nearly tripping from the pain, Aoba refused to look back as he exited the apartment. He didn't want to see Izaya or his Cheshire grin. Because this just had to have been part of Izaya's plan.

Eventually, without showing any signs of there having been something wrong, Aoba faced his beloved person with a smile at their apartment. No matter what, he didn't want the person in front him to know of what had happened in case they decided to face Izaya. Putting this one in front of that maniac was the last thing he wanted.

So Aoba put that night in the back of his mind.

**End**

* * *

Sissy: So, originally this wasn't going to be written, much less posted. The reason is that (in a cosmic and ironic event) both Foxy from Dattebayo Devon and I had the same basic plot (Mikado goes missing and someone believes Izaya to be the cause so they question him). Thing was that Foxy managed to put her idea up as a story first and I only planned for it to be a one-shot (drabble). So now that I had written it, I sent it over to her and got permission to post. Viva like-minded people! XD Anyways, funny thing I realized some time ago. I dunno if Narita-sensei planned it but Izaya's birthday is on national Star Wars day (May the 4th). Kudos to anyone who didn't have to repeat those words three times before getting it (Hi! That's me!).


	11. I have nothing if not luck

**Title:** I have nothing if not luck**  
By:** Sissy

**Pairings:** kdmk?**  
Warnings:** T!chapter. Random fluff to make up (sorta) for the previous chapter's dark theme.

* * *

"Ugh… Damn it… I should've taken Masaomi's invitation back then…" Mikado mumbled to himself very incoherently though the fact that he was alone made the whole thing seem normal. And as long as there wasn't anyone around, then it wouldn't become weird.

"Ryugamine?" Suddenly, a familiar voice called out to him and Mikado turned around to see Kadota walking towards him. The fact that he was alone seemed weird but Mikado was more preoccupied about something else entirely to care at the moment.

"Ah, Kadota-san. Good evening." Without forgetting his manners, Mikado gave the older man a light bow. However, before Kadota could reply to the boy's bow, he was caught by surprise when he saw the boy's nearly dead look on his face.

"Hey, you okay? You look like you're about to faint." Kadota asked worriedly, taking a few steps closer to Mikado.

"Oh. Ah…" Mikado looked slightly flustered by that and apologized. "I-I'm sorry. I ran out of funds this week so I have to hold out until tomorrow when my allowance comes in… But please don't worry!" The boy tried to look cheerful but he failed miserably, causing Kadota to shake his head.

"That's not healthy. You're still young so you need your three meals a day. Come with me. I'll feed you something." Kadota said as he grabbed hold of Mikado's hand and began to pull him away.

"Eh? Ah, that's not necessary Kadota-san! I can hold out until tomorrow!" Mikado tried to stop Kadota but the older man was stronger and had already brought him to their usual place; the Russia Sushi.

Standing in front of the shop, Kadota spoke up. "It's nothing special but I figure you can at least eat something." As he smiled at Mikado, the boy nodded appreciatively at his gesture. Even if he didn't want to burden the older man too much, he knew the sushi was cheap and would at least do its job.

Both headed in and were immediately greeted by Simon. They took a seat by the window while Simon brought them a snack to munch on before eating. After ordering the food for them, Kadota offered the snack in front of them to Mikado.

"Oh, thank you. But you should eat as well Kadota-san." Mikado took a piece and offered the bowl back to Kadota with a smile.

"You're a good kid, you know?" Kadota smiled and extended his hand to ruffle Mikado's hair.

Mikado lowered his gaze to hide his blush and felt Kadota stop. As the older sempai was going to speak, someone interrupted with a cheery tone, causing Kadota to retreat his hand as fast as he could. "Oh? This is an odd combination. Where's the rest of your gang? Or are you two on a date? Does Karisawa-san know this?" Izaya's grin irked the both of them with his unique timing.

"What are you doing here Izaya?" Kadota asked with a frown as Simon passed by to deliver their order.

"Getting food. It's a salmon special day after all!" Izaya cheered and lifted up his box of food to show what he meant.

"Then if that's all, why don't you go home?" Kadota asked curiously, not realizing the significance of his own words.

"You're trying to kick me out Dotachin? So this really is a date! Don't you feel lucky and excited, Mikado-kun?" Izaya asked with a grin while getting closer to Mikado.

However, instead of feeling flustered by the comment, Mikado turned away to look outside. "Ah, Heiwajima-san." He said with a surprised look as the mentioned man was walking right past their location.

"Ah, wait… Don't…" Izaya tried to stop Mikado but the younger boy had already knocked on the glass window with a smile on his face.

Kadota quickly ducked away from view and seeing him, Mikado followed suit. That left Izaya to be seen as plain as day by ex-bartender. The result, of course, was obvious. "Iiiizaaaayaaaa!" Shizuo's screams were loud and anyone who heard them knew by know to run away from the area.

As he planned his revenge, Izaya ran out of the building. "Come back here you flea!" The words were so normal that Izaya couldn't help but grin. The ex-bartender didn't know that he had just been used to save the other two from the informant.

As they both got back up to sit correctly, Kadota spoke first. "Shizuo passing by was lucky. But I'm sorry you had to go through that. Izaya likes to exaggerate too much sometimes." He tried to apologize but the younger boy shook his head.

"I know he takes things too far sometimes. I'm the one who should apologize. You got in that mess with Orihara-san because you wanted to treat me to something." Mikado tried smiling in order to ease his sempai's worries.

"Ah, don't worry. Just eat your food in the meantime." Kadota said as Simon brought their food and they began to eat in awkward silence.

Once they were done, Mikado gave a happy sigh and smiled over to Kadota. "Thank you Kadota-san. That was good." He thanked the man and saw him smile back.

"It's no problem. Now let's go. I'll walk you home." Kadota said and headed over to pay Simon, not realizing the double meaning in his words or how red Mikado was left.

'That's Orihara-san getting to you, Mikado. Forget about it.' Mikado reminded himself of the previous event and walked over to Kadota, feeling calmer about the situation.

The two walked out of the Russia Sushi quietly and began to walk in the direction of Mikado's apartment. There was nothing to say between them as neither had any idea of what to talk about. About halfway there, Mikado finally found something to talk about.

"Um, Karisawa-san and the others… They weren't with you today?" He shyly asked, glancing at Kadota.

"Ah, they headed out to an overnight event in Akihabara and Togusa said there was a limited edition item he was trying to get somewhere else." Kadota explained rather calmly and decided to ask something himself. "Kida and that girl aren't with you either?"

"Oh. No, we've already parted for the day. I was headed home when you caught me." Mikado explained, feeling slightly embarrassed by his words.

"Ah, I see…" Kadota nodded, feeling awkward now.

As Mikado's apartment became closer, the boy grew worried that the moment would remain awkward even as they parted. He hoped Kadota had not treated him to dinner simply out of pity or because he knew his best friend or even because Kadota was an alumni of Raira. Of course, any reason besides those one made him red and flustered.

"That's you, right? You should be careful of a place like this. It was broken into once, wasn't it?" Kadota asked as he remembered something Mikado had spoke about some time before.

"Oh, yes. But it wasn't for the normal reasons so I don't think it'll happen again." Mikado seemed certain of that as he tried to project his determination to Kadota.

"Alright, I guess. Good night then." Kadota seemed to accept Mikado's words and turned around to leave.

However, Mikado quickly stopped him by calling out to him. "Um, Kadota-san!"

"Yeah?" The man turned his gaze towards the boy, curious about what he wanted to say.

"Tomorrow… When my allowance comes in… Would you like me to treat you to something?" He asked shyly, turning his gaze to the floor. Mikado seemed embarrassed by the proposal and didn't notice how red Kadota had gotten.

But the man soon calmed himself and smiled. Walking over to Mikado, he placed a hand on top of the boy's head. Once his Raira kouhai looked up, Kadota spoke. "Alright. I'll be looking forward to it."

With that, Kadota parted and left a very happy Mikado behind. The next day would prove itself to be a good one. Provided Izaya didn't get his revenge at that time and that only Mikado and Kadota were alone. Because their companions would make a big ruckus if they knew the two had made what would normally be called…a date.

**End**

* * *

Sissy: "There was nothing to say between them as neither had any idea of what to talk about." That moment (or codeword) when not even the author knows where the story is headed. XD (Though it's not really a joke, it's actually true.) Anyways, the title had little to do with the plot but I hope I got the fluff through. After all, this is another of those minority pairings that we can't help but be attracted to. Xd


	12. Side A: Wandering Thought

**Title:** Side A: Wandering Thought**  
By:** Sissy

**Pairings:** msmk? + szaniz?**  
Warnings:** T!chapter. The first of two chapters with a similar theme (next one is chapter 20). The characters' mannerisms are based on an official picture which I will post a link on my profile for everyone to see (I scanned it from my Durarara no Subete so I apologize if you think I chose the wrong setting to scan it).

* * *

The moment he realized he no longer knew where he was, was the moment he realized he was utterly lost. A loud thundering roar was heard somewhere in the distance as if signifying the bad times to come. But the boy was not interested in that. All he could think at the moment was that he didn't know where he was. Looking around confused, he took a step forward. He tried to say something to someone passing by but retreated in fear. No one seemed to pay him any mind but in a big city like the one he found himself in, that was normal.

"…" The stares were silent yet somehow loud enough for the boy to hear them. He turned around, distraught look on his face, and faced two people.

One was a girl, probably around his age, with glasses and a uniform that gave mention to her bust. The other was a much taller, and obviously older looking, man in a different uniform than the girl. What caught his attention was how they looked at him. Since the girl was shorter, she looked up at him. The man, as he was taller, looked down on him from behind the sunglasses on his face.

"Um…" He started, slightly scared and confused. "Where…am I?"

…

Somewhere far away, at a slightly farther time, lights began to flicker as the shadow of the nonchalant boy was somehow projected taller than anything else around. The effect should have surprised anyone around but the street was desolate at the moment. He looked around, grumbling lightly and sighed once.

"That stupid Mikado. He got lost in an annoying place."

The boy began to walk away, not noticing the man who trailed behind with a wide grin on his face. Though if the boy had noticed, he gave no notion of it and had simply chosen to ignore the stalker.

…

"Ikebukuro." The man simply replied, his gaze still on the boy.

"O-oh… I see… Where is that?" The boy was confused and looked around at the tall buildings.

"In Tokyo." The girl replied this time, looking at him curiously, as if wondering who he was or what he was doing. But since neither side knew the other, it was obvious that there were many questions to be had.

"How did I get here?" The boy seemed to have ignored both the girl and the man and was now talking to himself. "I know I was heading home… Did I take a wrong turn somewhere? Was it at the river or after the tunnel? It couldn't have been the stairs. But that's a road I always take…"

Slightly infuriated that the boy was ignoring them, the man called out to him without raising his voice too high. "Hey. What the hell are you talking about?"

"Where am I?" The boy asked once again, failing to notice that the man snapped. He saw him spit his cigarette to the floor before crushing it. As the man now walked towards him, the boy side-stepped and stood slightly behind the girl.

"Just fucking explain what you're talking about already!" He screamed at the boy but the girl closed her eyes anyways since he had been screaming in her general direction.

"I…" The boy started as the girl glanced towards him. "I was heading home... Then, all of a sudden, I found myself here. But I don't know if I took a wrong turn somewhere."

Without turning to face him completely, the girl asked. "Do you know how to get back home?"

"Well…" The boy began to think before speaking out the directions. "You go through there then take a left at the right, passing a tunnel then down the stairs and up the road… That's strange. I take that road everyday back. Where did I go wrong? Did I take a right at the left instead?"

"Hey." The man called his attention before speaking again, feeling slightly surprised he hadn't tried to punch the boy. "Where do you live anyways?"

…

"Stop following me and state your purpose already." The nonchalant boy stopped in his tracks and refused to turn around. It seemed as though he had already realized that he was being followed and only now decided that it was getting on his nerves.

"Oh? You knew I was following you? Why not say anything earlier?" The black clothed man asked as he appeared from the shadows of the crowds.

"You're annoying. I don't like being followed." The boy stated and started taking a few steps away from the man. "Besides, I got no interest in you. There's something else I need to do first."

The man went into thought before smirking and following the boy again. "So you're looking for someone? Need any help?"

"No. I have a general idea where he is." The boy simply spoke, avoiding any collision with the people around them very skillfully.

"Is this person important?" The man asked curiously but the boy now stopped talking to him. "Oh, man. You're going to make me find out the hard way, aren't you? Hmph. How interesting." And without another word, the man trailed behind the boy, much closer this time, while ignoring the few stares he got for nearly skipping. That seemed normal to him.

…

Having gotten nowhere with words, both of them decided to simply walk around with the boy, hoping he would catch his bearings at some point. They walked in front of the boy, catching glances at him every so often to make sure he was still following them.

"Anything yet?" The man, who introduced himself as Shizuo, asked with a slight scowl but the boy shook his head. As worried as he looked, the boy who introduced himself as Mikado, had learned not to piss off Shizuo too much.

"I'm sure it'll come to you." The girl, who initiated the introductions by naming herself Anri, smiled and continued the soft pace.

"Sorry. I'm just slightly freaked out." Mikado apologized and tried not to look distraught again.

"We've been walking for two hours now, just hurry up and remember how to get home!" Shizuo growled and ruffled his own hair so as not to get rough with the frail-looking boy. Anri, in turn, tried to calm him by placing her hand on his arm for a moment. Once he calmed down, they continued on.

…

"Seriously, if you don't talk to me, I'll get bored!" The man who called himself Izaya tried to get a reaction out of the boy yet the other continued to ignore him. As he sighed, he looked around at the people who watched from afar. Well, he simply wanted to get to know the boy but people watching seemed to be his pastime so until he got some answers, blindly following the nonchalant boy was interesting enough.

"Tch." Izaya heard the boy click his tongue as he stopped in his tracks.

"Oh? Feel like answering now?" Izaya turned to the boy but noticed that he had begun to walk again. "Come on now, don't leave me behind!"

"What the hell are you doing, Mikado?" The boy asked, slightly loud, and Izaya looked up ahead at the group of three. His face seemed surprised at the very least.

…

"Masaomi!" Mikado turned around with a happy look on his face. He also seemed to be very relieved to see the nonchalant boy.

"Iiizaaayaaa!" Shizuo, who had turned around at the same time as Anri, noticed Izaya and quickly walked over to him with a glare in place. He seemed about ready to murder the man.

"Oh my, Shizu-chan. Were you and Anri-chan on a date?" Izaya grinned, taking only a step away from the incoming Shizuo.

"Where have you been all this time? Here? Your mom's worried so she sent me to look for you." The nonchalant boy who had been called Masaomi walked over to the boy.

"I got lost here. How did you find me anyways?" Mikado asked curiously, looking around to see if anyone else had come with Masaomi.

"Instinct, of course. You're not that hard to find anyways. Your mom knows you can't go too far away from home so I just took your same route. Still, you got lost in an annoying place. I'm going to have to beat into you the way home again so this doesn't happen." Masaomi sounded serious but his gaze seemed uncaring.

"Sorry. But how are we getting home?" Mikado began to look worried and distraught again.

Before Masaomi could answer that, the two behind him began to fight it out. Mikado now looked extremely worried while Anri took a few steps closer to the two boys, almost ready to speak if Masaomi hadn't cut her off.

"Would you please stop it with the childish games? You're nothing but overgrown kids if all you do is fight at the sight of each other. Learn some patience." At those words, both men stopped and looked over to the three teens.

"Thank you." Anri spoke lightly from behind the boys and looked over to the two men.

"Um, Masaomi? That's all well and good but how are we getting home? Do you know the way? Are you lost too?" Mikado began to get flustered and Anri heard thunder in the distance. It was possible it would rain soon.

Suddenly, Masaomi took hold of Mikado's jacket collar and brought him closer for a deep kiss. Once he was done, he spoke up. "Stop freaking out Mikado. I know you love to worry but it's annoying."

As Masaomi let go of the boy, the two men came closer and saw the light blush on Mikado's face. "Sorry Masaomi."

"Good. Now, we gotta wait for your mom's signal before coming back. The path's kinda blocked right now." Masaomi spoke and sat down on the railing of the street, followed by Mikado and Anri.

"Are you two completely ignoring us now?" Izaya asked the two teens and saw Anri flinch when the loud roar of thunder came after the blinding flash of lighting.

Masaomi simply sighed as Mikado tugged his shirt. "Yeah. I know. Let's go. This place is way too annoying for me." Getting up, both began to walk away without looking back.

The three left behind stared at their disappearing figures and noticed someone coming from the same direction. It was a man, possibly the same age as Shizuo and Izaya, with a long white coat on him. He seemed worried about something and didn't speak until he caught up to the ones left behind and had caught his breath as well.

"Don't…fight…" The man managed to say before sitting down next to Anri.

"We're not." Shizuo responded and lit up another cigarette.

"…Right. Well, I'm glad it's not all true." The man gave them a soft sigh and a smile.

"What are you talking about Shinra?" Izaya asked curiously, wondering about what he had talked about. "Are there some funny rumors going on?" He winked at Shinra and saw the man nod honestly.

Anri looked towards Shinra and asked, "What kind?"

"Well, that Anri-chan and Shizuo-kun were fighting earlier but made up very lovingly by offering to call each other by their first names." Shinra began but the two in question found what he said odd. "Also that Izaya-kun was going insane from anger and tried practicing some lines out in the street while heading towards your date. He intended to crash the date but it became obvious to everyone that he and Shizuo-kun would just fight it out for Anri-chan."

"Hey, hold on now…" Izaya tried to stop him, wondering what he was talking about anyways.

"So Celty was worried you two would destroy the town trying to claim Anri for yourselves and sent me to stop you. But it looks like you resolved your differences. Don't tell me you're planning on making a threesome?" Shinra slid away a bit, feeling slightly crept out by his own words.

"Wait just a second." Izaya stopped Shinra and looked seriously at him. "What about the two boys in the middle of all this?"

Tilting his head in confusion, Shinra asked. "What boys?"

"Anri and me were trying to help a lost kid find his bearings around town." Shizuo spoke and Anri nodded in agreement.

"And I was following one who was looking for the one with these two." Izaya commented honestly.

"Did you not see them when you came here?" Anri finally asked with confusion in her eyes.

"What kids? You three have been here by yourselves all this time. Is there something wrong with your eyes?" Shinra was now confused by their words as all three looked at each other. The loud thunder in the distance seemed to be closer this time around as the sky darkened.

Shizuo reacted first by grabbing Anri's hand. "Right. We're going. See ya." Completely ignoring Shinra, Shizuo and Anri walked away together.

"What's going on?" Shinra asked Izaya, hoping for some answers.

"Today… Even I don't know." Izaya simply responded and walked away in the other direction.

As a few drops of rain fell on Shinra, the man simply ran off home. He was going to discuss this with someone dear very soon because it seemed as though the three had truly lost their minds.

Even though they never had. They simply were the main characters in something really weird.

**End**

* * *

Sissy: Somehow, this almost got out of my grip. It nearly went in a different direction that I had planned but I somehow brought it back(!). So, uh, did anyone notice my subtle hints as to everyone's positions? This way, the people looking from afar would think they weren't looking at nothing and it would make sense by the end. Izaya, being Izaya, would only be labeled as a crazy man for talking to himself, but it's Izaya so people would probably not give him a second thought. XD So in the end, what do you think Mikado and Masaomi were? (winkwink)


	13. Stooges Squad

**Title:** Stooges Squad**  
By:** Sissy

**Pairings:** None, really.**  
Warnings:** T!chapter. Too much L&O, man. The murder is not the plot. Much randomness.

* * *

"MIKADO!" The detective ran towards the other with all his might and tackled him to the ground by hitting him right in the neck with crossed arms. He quickly stood up and grinned down on the almost unconscious detective. "You daredevil, you! I heard you went out on a date yesterday! And with Anri-chan no less!"

"What are you talking about, Masaomi?" Ryugamine Mikado coughed a bit before asking. Then, with care not to be tackled again, he stood up and faced the offender.

"Don't try to play dumb, Mikado! I heard it from Karisawa-san! She saw you on her way home!" Kida Masaomi poked fun at his best friend without noticing that someone had snuck up behind them.

"But that's not what happened…" Sonohara Anri's low voice scared Masaomi and the other ran behind Mikado with a smile in place.

"Anri-chan was supposed to be meeting me but got caught up catching a bad guy!" Mikajima Saki came up from behind the trio with a smile. "Good work last night, Anri-chan. And thank you for helping out even though you had the night off, Ryugamine-kun."

"It was simply my duty, Mikajima-san." Mikado said honestly and received a pair of slaps from behind.

"Nicely said!" Both Masaomi and a newcomer spoke at the same time, surprising the group. Immediately, all four stood in front of the superior man and saluted him. "Oh, please. At ease kids, I'm not here to hurt you. Though, Saki-chan, I'm curious as to why you're also saluting me since you're not an officer." His tone sounded normal though all four heard the belittling tone in the back of their minds.

As Saki put away her hand, she softly smiled at Orihara Izaya. "It's a force of habit from watching the detectives and officers, Chief."

"How nice." Izaya's smile irked them all while the man continued with his small speech. "Well, I have good news for you all! We have a new recruit to the squad! A fresh cadet who just recently graduated from his exam with top scores. Well, it shouldn't bother you all too much since he'll be at the charge of Dotachin. See ya all in the office!" In a singsong manner, Izaya left them. All four swore they could see the small skip in his step.

Masaomi was the first to sigh; and deeply at that. "When he said cadet…"

"We know." Both Mikado and Anri answered at the same time with a neutral look. Saki seemed curious at what was going through their minds but kept quiet for the moment.

"Hey, you got a case." The taller of two incoming men caused them to salute again, though this time, Saki held herself back. "At ease. Ryugamine and Sonohara, you two handle the case. Kida, I need to you recheck the case file from last week. Kadota and Mikajima, let's go. You two are with me."

"You got it, Captain!" As one they replied to Heiwajima Shizuo with vigor. Mikado and Anri were the first to leave after hearing their destination from Shizuo. Masaomi headed down a few floors to look for the information requested of him. The last two, Saki and Kadota Kyohei, followed Shizuo to their squad.

While Shizuo took the two to Izaya's office to present the new recruit, Mikado and Anri arrived at the location they were sent to. It was a massacre scene with blood on the walls and bodies covered with sheets.

"Ooh! Mikado-kun and Anri-chan! You got sent here today?" A happy-looking man who was part of the forensics group came towards the two detectives. He had been searching around while his partner took pictures.

"Hello Yumasaki-san. Togusa-san, anything you can tell?" Mikado greeted both Yumasaki Walker and Togusa Saburou while Anri walked around the crime scene and inspected the bodies.

"Looks like the knife caused splatter from here to there. The one on the left took a bullet which Walker found just now." He pointed to Walker, who was placing a bullet into an evidence cup. "The offender took off and…well ask the officers, I got other photographs to take." Saburou answered lazily and continued with his work.

"Ryugamine-kun, this here…" Anri called Mikado over and pointed to a neck wound on one of the victims. "It's the same, right?"

"Third one this month." Mikado sighed and looked around. "But this isn't his MO. Did he get caught by surprise? The one who got shot…is a woman? Could that be why? The rest have always been males." As he inspected the second body, a man in a lab coat arrived with a smile.

"Here to take the body! Ooh, this looks interesting." As everyone in the scene rolled their eyes, the man motioned for the bodies to be taken away. "See you two later!" And just like he arrived, the man left in the same hurry.

Mikado took notes from what the responding officers commented while Anri finished inspecting the room. As soon as they were done, they headed out to canvass the neighborhood. Following some leads, they came up with nothing for the moment and headed back to their squad to report the situation.

"Welcome home honeys!" Masaomi greeted from the hallway, about to enter their squad room. "So, is it him? I had this funny feeling ever since the Captain asked me to recheck the case files. We're going to do a lot of field work again, I can just tell." As they opened the door, both Masaomi and Anri froze at the sound of;

"SEMPAI~!"

Almost one second after this, Mikado's foot landed on the incoming person, surprising everyone in the squad. They all turned to look at the scene in front of them and even Izaya had come out of his office to look at what caused the sound.

"Man, you totally don't learn your lesson, do you Kuronuma?" Masaomi shook his head at the nearly unconscious form of Kuronuma Aoba. Ignoring their kouhai, he proceeded to bring in the previous cases to Shizuo's desk.

"Kida, explain." Shizuo's nerves were about to explode from anger and all the tomfoolery that occurred on a daily basis in this squad.

"Kuronuma's our kouhai from the academy, Captain. He's Mikado's biggest fan." Masaomi joked around while dropping the paperwork on Shizuo's desk. "Well, I wasn't surprised he came after the guy. No one else is stupid enough to come into the squad the others call the 'Stooges Squad' after all."

"You belong in this squad too, you know." Kyohei appeared with a cup of coffee in his hand. He seemed bored of the conversation already and was about to leave when he saw the case files on the desk. "He hit again? Looks like I can't quit until we catch this guy."

Mikado and Anri arrived at the gathering, noting how Izaya had already retreated to his office. They were planning on commenting on Kyohei's words when Shizuo's phone rang.

"Heiwajima." He quickly greeted whoever was on the other line while massaging his forehead. "I'll tell them." Quickly hanging up, he looked over to Mikado and Anri. "Karisawa has something."

With a nod, the two quickly walked away, holding off on their report for the moment. Once they arrived at the ballistics lab, they were greeted by the pop of a party popper with surprise. The woman responsible grinned in their direction and Mikado had a feeling why.

"Congrats! I hear you two are together. Now maybe you can give some pointers to Iza-Iza and Shizu-Shizu!" Karisawa Erika went into a daydream, leaving to the two by themselves.

"You'll get fired one of these days, Erika-san." Mikado sighed sadly while lecturing her.

"Oh, but then I'll get a severance pay for abuse of power on Iza-Iza's part!" Erika nearly freaked out but quickly got back on track without having to have someone to remind of her job. "My hard work of updating the databases before leaving sure paid off! I'm glad I also asked for the hardware upgrade."

"Erika-san, you found something?" Anri tried to bring the woman back from her rant.

"Ah! Oh, right! Anyways, this is really interesting. Wherever your gun is, it was involved in an unsolved murder case a year ago. The assailant was never captured but it seems like all your recent victims were somehow involved in the case." Erika explained with a smile and handed them a folder with the basic information on the case.

"I remember reading about this." Anri was the first to comment and Mikado nodded in agreement. "Then, the man who was murdered with this gun, could this be revenge killing?"

"The wife survived the attack but was left mute so she would have a good chance of surprising each of our victims. But, wasn't she left in a wheel chair? Let's inform the Captain." Mikado suggested and they headed back again to inform on all their findings.

Once the report was over with, they got called to the morgue while Kyohei took Masaomi and the recently woken Aoba on a re-canvassing of the witnesses of the old case.

At the morgue, they met with an unexpected person. The foreigner seemed to be caught by surprise as she bashfully tried to cover her food from them. "I wasn't hiding from the Chief! I just wanted a peaceful lunch!"

"Oh, don't run off now Celty-kun! You were about to give me your opinion on this!" The doctor pouted as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Ew! Shinra! You just handled the corpses with those hands!" Celty Sturluson took a step back while making sure her cup ramen didn't fall from her hands.

"That's so mean Celty-kun! The human body is a wonderful mechanism!" Kishitani Shinra took offense at the woman's disgust and turned over to the newcomers. "Anyways, you all remember the last two victims, right? This guy died the same way; exsanguinations from repeated cuts, mainly through the aorta on the neck. It was quick but painful."

"And the woman?" Mikado quickly asked, walking with Shinra to the woman's corpse, alongside Anri.

"The bullet couldn't have been more precise, unless it was a fluke. Anyways, she was pregnant recently. By the scarring, I'd say she gave birth about a month ago." Shinra explained with a smile, happy with his findings for the moment.

"Wait, hold on…" Mikado started to speak, almost nervously.

"There wasn't a baby found on the scene." Anri finished for him.

"Much less anything that indicated a child." Mikado's face began to pale. "Are you saying her child was…?"

"I don't do your job, but do assume what you wish. I would suggest taking another look at the crime scene. My father had a house like that one once; they tend to come with a secret room." How Shinra knew something like that as beyond the two detectives but they knew they'd have to go back again. There'd be no problem with that anyways.

"There's a huge problem with that now." Izaya said as soon as they stopped by the office. "Don't get me wrong, I'm all for it. But someone just saw a suspicious person enter the apartment with a child in their hands. I think we might have to call the snipers." His grin was wide, everyone in the office noted.

Mikado held in his comment and headed out with Anri after they each grabbed a bullet-proof vest from their lockers. Shizuo sent a notice to Masaomi's group so they'd soon be on their way too. In a high-speed fashion, Mikado and Anri soon arrived at the scene of the most recent murders. Once there, Mikado and Anri, who now held a sword in her hands, went inside, followed by a pair of officers for backup.

"Celty-san, you see anything?" Mikado asked through the walkie-talkie.

"Negative. All curtains are drawn in the room. I can barely see through the gaps." Celty returned a response as she and her team were stationed in the surrounding buildings.

"What should we do, Ryugamine-kun?" Anri asked worriedly, as she held on tight to her sword.

Falling silent for a few seconds, Mikado nodded to himself and got closer to the now open hidden room Shinra was talking about. "Hey there, friend. Do you want to talk about this?"

"Go away!" A man's voice could be heard from the other side and Mikado tried to get a closer look.

"That's the wife's brother." Masaomi's low yet sudden voice surprised Mikado, who nearly hit his best friend. "We saw him earlier. I thought he looked shaky. Anyways, Mikado, looks like his sister made a whole recovery around the time this clinic was robbed and her husband's eggs were taken."

Mikado and Anri gaped at Masaomi in shock. "Are you saying, the woman is the wife?"

"Looks like it sempai! So she probably did the robbery so she could grab this inheritance the husband left for his future children, which was about to be given to charity." The annoying kouhai came in with a smile. "But that woman was so stupid! She planned all this but any doctor would have realized eventually with our help that she was the one who stole the eggs."

"So the other men were her coconspirators, is that so Kadota-san?" Mikado turned to Kyohei, who turned up with another pair of officers.

"We think so. I did notice something odd at his place. There were a lot of pictures of the dead husband and few of his sister. It's possible he was in love with his dead brother-in-law." Kyohei explained his theory to Mikado and Anri, who appreciated it more.

Nodding to Anri, his partner headed in front to speak. "You blame your sister, do you not? She did not appreciate her husband like you did, is this not correct?"

"What do you know?" The man's voice responded with sobs.

"That child, even though your sister gave birth to it, you cannot bring yourself to hurt it. It's your only link to him, is it not? You were worried she would hurt him like she did to him, am I wrong?" Anri asked softly and a few moments passed before the man answered again.

"…She didn't deserve him. I wanted him to notice that. In the end, he died not knowing anything."

"But I'm sure he knew you cared for him, or at least that you were right. Why else would he leave everything of his to his children? Do you not think so?" Anri came into the room after handing her sword to Mikado.

"I guess…you're right…" The man looked wearily at the baby in his arms. It was currently sleeping.

"Then do not let that child be disappointed in the one person who cares for him the most. Will you talk to us?" Anri tried to relax him by phrasing her wording correctly in order for him to give her the baby.

"I don't know how…" The man answered unsurely.

"It's very easy. While my coworkers check on the health of the baby, you and I can talk about it at the station." Anri smiled at the man who took a while as he looked at the baby. Very slowly, he smiled at the baby and nodded to Anri.

"Okay, Aoba-kun, go pick up the baby." Mikado ordered of his kouhai, who happily responded and walked over swiftly to the man, taking the child away.

After that, Anri read the man his rights and took him away with Mikado's help. After a few hours of interrogation, the man confessed to everything and was taken away. Once they were done, Masaomi took the two out to drinks.

"To a job well done!" Masaomi cheered and the four there clinked their glasses together. "So, Kadota-san, are you going to retire now that we've finished this case?"

"I'm not retiring, you know. I'm not getting those kinds of benefits." Kyohei replied while drinking from his mug of beer. "But, I will miss you guys."

"Just us?" Masaomi grinned while nudging Kyohei.

"Sorry we're late." Saki, Erika, Walker and Saburou came in and joined their group.

"Well, considering these three idiots are going to join me, you gotta be right. It's just you three and Mikajima-san." Kyohei replied and motioned for a waiter.

"Aw, Dotachin, you didn't have to be so cute about that!" Erika seemed happy about the praise only she caught coming from Kyohei's mouth. "One apple cider, please."

"Kadota-san is pretty shy about our new profession. You really shouldn't tease him too much, Karisawa-san." Walker said with a smile after ordering his beer. Saburou took the opportunity to ask from his own drink and something to eat.

"I will say this though; I'll miss Kadota-san trying to make the squad less of a joke with the rest of the station." Masaomi chuckled and Mikado shook his head with a smile. "And Karisawa-san's unique view on evidence. And Yumasaki-san and Togusa-san's dead on shots on crime scenes."

"I bow in thanks." Erika and Walker said at the same time with a grin on their faces.

"Am I late?" Shizuo came closer to the group, about ready to smoke a cigarette.

"Kyaa! It's the Captain!" Masaomi and Erika squealed with delight, halfheartedly joking around. "Our great leader managed to escape the claws of meetings? I thought for sure Chief Orihara would keep you awake all night!" As the two kept enjoying themselves, Mikado and Walker put a stop to them by pinching their cheeks.

As more food arrived, so did the alcohol. Around midnight, Mikado and Anri looked red from the beer while Masaomi, Erika and Walker had begun singing. Saki was smiling, not seeming at all fazed by the beer while Kadota kept his hold just as well. Saburou had already been knocked out and Shizuo looked like he could snap soon.

"Nobody invited me to this gathering? How cruel of you all." Izaya showed up with a smile and looked around. "Where's Aoba-kun? Did you all leave him looking after the baby at the hospital?" At his question, everyone froze and Mikado and Masaomi looked at each other. In another second, Masaomi resumed his singing while Mikado drank another cup.

"It should be okay, Chief. I don't think Kuronuma-kun will stay the whole night there." Saki said with a smile as Masaomi tackled her, startling her in the process.

"And if he does, who cares?"

"True, true." Mikado responded with a smile and the rest were shocked to hear those words from his mouth. At that moment, Anri gave up and fell asleep on Mikado's shoulder. "Ah, I should probably go to sleep soon too." And with those words, Mikado followed suit.

"That's it. I'm switching to milk now." Shizuo called for a waiter as Izaya scooted into the table.

"Chief, the new seats are coming tomorrow, correct?" Saki began a conversation very naturally with Izaya, who proceeded to talk business after ordering something for himself.

"Hello~!" Suddenly, Shinra and Celty arrived with happy grins on their faces. "You know what? You know what? The human body is fascinating, everyone. Have you noticed how resilient it is to attacks and pain?" Shinra began babbling as they crashed into their get together.

"I'm surprised to see you here, Celty-kun. You know you still owe me a report on that last dealing we had." Izaya grinned and the woman froze before tears swelled up in her eyes.

As Shinra began to try and calm down Celty, no one noticed the sleeping pair murmur, "Run…"

"You're so mean, Chief!" Grabbing a nearby tray from a waiter, Celty slammed the tray on top of Izaya's head. Immediately, the singing trio began to laugh hysterically.

"She put the Irish in!" Masaomi and Erika laughed together as Shizuo tried to hold in his own.

"That was very daring of you Celty-kun…" Izaya's sly grin became wider as he obviously got angry.

"Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!" Masaomi and Erika now began to edge on the two, causing a bigger ruckus which ended with them being kicked out of the bar.

Once out, they formed groups in order to return home. Kyohei held onto the sleeping Saburou by hanging his arm around his shoulder. Walker carried Erika in a piggy-back ride though the other was still too hyped up on the alcohol she had started to accidently ingest. Shizuo was carrying the sleeping Anri like a child while Izaya had Mikado also in a piggy-back ride. Shinra held onto Celty by the waist and arm. Masaomi and Saki were the last two standing, though it was obvious Masaomi was still inebriated.

"Well, we're heading this way! Someone's got to pick up Kuronuma!" Masaomi grinned and walked away, as Saki followed him to make sure nothing would happen to him on the way.

"I'll see you tomorrow. My resignation will be on your desk then, Captain, Chief." Kyohei nodded to each of them and turned to leave.

"Good night, all. See you tomorrow, I guess." Walker seemed happy as he freaked out for a moment because Erika had moved to say, "Night night, Iza-Iza, Shizu-Shizu!"

"Well, shall we Shizu-chan?" Izaya grinned at Shizuo, who kicked him from behind.

"And that's only because we're off duty. I'd kill you if either of us didn't work together." Shizuo growled while beginning his walk home.

Izaya laughed since they'd have to ride the same train all to way to the same apartment building because they coincidentally lived in the same floor as well. This was the reason Erika had so much fun poking fun at the two superiors. And they were the main part of the reason why their squad was called 'The Stooges Squad'.

**End**

"Noooo! Tell me it isn't true!" Aoba's scream sounded throughout the hospital floor and Masaomi simply laughed at his expense. "Why? Why didn't sempai invite me?"

"Seriously man, you know we hate you! I sure as hell wouldn't go to a celebration with you there!" Masaomi responded and swayed for a moment as Saki helped him stay up.

"Well, I'm sure you'll enjoy being in our squad soon, Kuronuma-kun. Though it's not for everyone and we might be looked down on, but nobody gets the job done like we do." Saki tried to invite him in peacefully with a smile but the younger one glared at her.

"Who cares about how good the squad is? The only reason I joined was so I could be partners with sempai!" Aoba cried all by his lonesome and Masaomi found it hilarious. All Saki could think was that another 'stooge' had just joined the squad. There would be no reason why the squad would ever begin to get better reviews.

**Stooge End**

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Sissy: Oh, snap! This had the potential to be hilarious and then it just went downhill. I did manage to salvage it a bit with the 'going Irish' comment, but meh. I wish I could remember the exact plot I had for this, aside from random laughs centering around the squad, but it was more of a 'the stooges are those who surround the squad' more than anything here. Anyways, hope you all enjoyed it nonetheless.


	14. Partners in Shadows Part 1

**Title:** Partners in Shadows _Part 1_**  
By:** Sissy

**Pairings:** onesided!szmk (but just innocent) + msar (super slightly)**  
Warnings:** AU!chapter. Based on the six official pictures that are on the Japanese official anime site. If anyone really needs them, I'll post them on my profile. Also, the next parts won't be posted for a while.

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"Come on Masaomi-kun, don't be so sour." The older man dressed in the black clothes and a furry black jacket tried to make the blond teen in front of him smile. The teen's back was facing him but he knew from the slouched back that the teen was feeling angry.

"Stop calling me that, _Last Angel_. I don't enjoy being called by my real name while on the job." The teen who also wore a black uniform with a yellow hoodie underneath scowled at the man behind him. He was serious about what he had spoken about yet the older man never seemed to care. He was much too laidback for his tastes sometimes.

"Right, right. I forget. You're feeling sour that it's you and I who have to go round up the others." Last chuckled to himself before returning to poking fun at the teen. "So then _Fire God_, do you know where she is anyhow?"

"I do. _Black Lady_ mentioned it to me before we left base. I would've preferred it if that man had come with us, but he just waltzes all day by himself." Slightly gritting his teeth, Fire carried on into the busy streets of the city. 'Besides, I've been there once before.' He bit back those words and kept them to himself.

"That's because Black-kun enjoys his free time. You know he won't have any more when we start doing our job." Last explained the situation that was already too familiar to them.

Without another word, the pair silently watched their surroundings change until they were in the very noticeable red light district. The hotels and gambling parlors were all around them but it was one in particular that they were looking for.

"Welcome!" A man in his thirties greeted them with a wide grin. It was as if he had been expecting them but the two knew otherwise. This man simply greeted everyone in this fashion. Last couldn't help but hold back a chuckle since the man had now paled when realizing who had come into his shop.

So, without saying a single word to the man at the front, both Fire and Last headed inside. It was as if they knew exactly where to go but since the one they were looking for was a comrade, they just had to follow their instincts. Eventually, while ignoring the screams of the man who had followed them, they arrived at a room occupied by two people.

One was a man, who was completely irrelevant to them, and the other was a young teenage girl, about the same age as Fire. She had a black uniform that could have complimented Fire's with a noticeable red bow on her white shirt, which was currently being exposed by the man in the room.

"Get the hell out." Fire spoke with a threatening voice but the man in the room did not seem to agree. With a click of his tongue, Fire walked in and slammed his foot right in between the man's legs, effectively scaring him away. The man who had followed them from the front was not amused.

"Was there something you needed?" The girl asked curiously, fixing her glasses very slowly, while ignoring the rest of the situation. She did not seem angry but she didn't sound pleased either.

"We've come to look for you, _Rain Protector_." Last said with a smile as he bent down to her eye level. No matter what or how long they've been apart, he always carried a soft spot for the girl.

Without batting an eyelash, Rain responded. "If it's a job I must do, I will not hesitate. However, you must do something for me first." At those words, Last held back a chuckle.

"That makes it seem very RPG-ish, don't you think so Fire-kun?" Last asked Fire while looking up at him.

"Just shut up and do something!" Fire bit back with a glare and saw Last get up before heading out of the room with the remaining man, who still seemed agitated and worried by what was happening. As soon as they were out, Fire bent down and placed Rain's black jacket in its rightful position. "Why do you keep coming back here?" He asked her in a low voice with a saddened look in his eyes.

"Where else am I to go?" Rain asked him and he bit his lower lip in frustration. Because he knew he could not take care of her on his own. Still, he was worried about the way she treated herself.

Last came back very quickly with a wide grin. "Okay, problem solved! Again!" He declared and began to leave without them, knowing full well that they marched just behind him.

Once they were out in the streets again, Rain looked a bit happier and asked. "Is everyone together already or are we missing anyone?"

"Oh, yes! We still got those two troublemakers to look for!" Last replied with a smile. "It's a chain game!"

Fire sighed and turned to Rain, "Sorry Rain, we need to use you as a shield. Those two still hate each other." He apologized but Rain shook her head and smiled.

"If I can be just a bit useful then I don't mind." Rain explained and heard a loud crash in the distance. They had already crossed over into another part of the city.

"Perfect! Now we know exactly where he is!" Last smiled widely and looked over to Fire. "This means you don't need to use force, right Fire-kun?"

"And you don't have to use your useless instincts." Fire retorted with a frown as he kept walking at Rain's pace.

As they got closer to the series of crashes and screams, they noticed the man they had come to look for. His glare seemed to frighten the man he was slightly chasing, slightly beating up. Like the others, he wore black colored clothes though they matched Rain's a bit more due to the red bowtie on his long sleeved white shirt that was noticeable through the vest.

"You're as angry as usual, aren't you?" Last asked while stepping closer to the blond man.

"Huh?" His glare, now pointed at Last, did not seem to faze Last at all. "Iiizaaa…!"

"_Lightning Strike_!" Fire intervened and brought Rain with him into view. With a nod, he motioned her to walk forward.

Replying with another nod, Rain spoke up. "We've come to you with a job, Lightning-san. Would you please accompany us?" She asked softly as saw him ease himself a bit.

Once he brought out a cigarette to light, they knew he was calm. "What's the job?" He asked without removing his glare directed at Last.

"Well, you know, we're still missing one more person!" Last answered honestly and with a wide grin.

"Ah, that's why the group is this small…" Lightning muttered but followed the three away from the scene of destruction he had caused. It did not seem too surprising that Lightning had not noticed their missing member. After all, even though that missing member idolized Lightning, the older man tended to simply ignore the advances.

"So where is he anyways?" Fire asked with a frown, not having received that bit of news from the person that reunited him with Last.

"Oh, in the loony bin." Last replied with a grin, leaving the three behind him with a surprised look.

With a great silence between them all, the three behind Last followed him in the direction only he knew. The scenery changed around them as the busy streets were left behind and they arrived at a more quiet part of the city. Fire and Rain seemed a bit worried but since they were looking for an ally, they seemed to find peace with that.

"This is the place." Last declared, pointing the white building in front of them. It sort of looked like a hospital yet way creepier.

Once inside, they talked with the receptionist, who seemed didn't seem all that surprised to see Last. The man explained that he did routine visits to check up on the one they were looking for but saw that deep glare Lighting threw in his direction and completely ignored it. After signing in, the receptionist led them down the hall with a worried smile on her face.

"He's shut down again so we had to connect an IV drip to him for a while now. He probably won't respond to you sir." The nurse explained but the rest didn't seem that surprised by the news. After all, they knew their comrade well. "In here." She opened the door to reveal a young teen who seemed to just be lying on the bed.

All four walked into the room, noticing that despite the place they were in, the teen still wore his black suit. His eyes stared dead ahead of him, which was up at the ceiling, while the only sound in the room was of the IV drip attached to his arm.

"Wake up." Lightning stepped forward first and gave the teen a light smack on his cheek once he was close enough. "Hey, _Noise Receiver_, I'm talking to you."

Light filled the teen's eyes and he blinked in surprise. Then, he broke out into a smile. "_Lightning Strike_…" As Noise tried to hug Lightning, the older man walked away very quickly.

"Yo, Noise!" Fire greeted Noise with a smile while Rain walked over to him as well.

"Oh, hello you two." Noise greeted the two without much care for either of them and saw Lightning beginning to leave so he got out of bed.

"It's been a while, hasn't it, Noise-kun?" Last asked with a low laugh as Noise walked towards him.

"It has." Noise nodded and gave a low voice of congratulations to the receptionist who had brought the group to the room. Whatever he seemed to congratulate her for seemed to shock the receptionist.

"Alright, now that we're all together, how about lunch first?" Fire suggested and walked out with Rain, leaving only Noise, Last and the shocked receptionist.

"Izaya-san…" Looking directly at Last, Noise began to speak up. "_Boku_…"

'_Boku_?' Last seemed confused as Noise normally spoke with a '_watashi_' tone due to certain particular reasons that had everything to do with his codename. Though since contact with Lighting, he figured it should have been normal.

"I shall always follow Shizuo-san's will; therefore, if you truly wish to carry out your plan, you must first find a way to have him agree with your ideas." With that, Noise followed the group quietly.

However, Last simply laughed after he had been left behind, causing the receptionist to look at him weirdly. "Right, I forget you can also hear my thoughts, Noise-kun. Alright, I'll take that challenge." With those words, Last followed the group. Not only did they have a job to do but he just simply enjoyed being with all of them.

**End Part 1**

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Sissy: Yeah, so this is the first drabble I made that's going to be officially in parts. There'll probably be two or three more, depending on my mood. But this first part is just kinda a background look at the main characters (considering I didn't show one of them) and kinda a suspenseful thing with Last. Oh, speaking of, there's a reason why they refer to each other with codenames, which should be explained later. Xd


	15. Down the spider falls Grown Child

**Title:** Down the spider falls _Grown Child_**  
By:** Sissy

**Pairings:** sziz + mkao**  
Warnings:** T!chapter. Continuation of drabble 4 so check it out if you're confused!

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The girl wakes from her slumber to a deep penetrating silence. She's confused as this is not normal. Still, she yawns from oversleeping a bit and gets out. She quickly takes a bath and changes clothes, smiling to her newly awakened self. Before heading down to the first floor where the kitchen lies, she takes a small side trip to her parents' room. Poking her head in, she fails to see them inside.

"Papa and mama aren't here? How odd. I thought for sure they'd celebrate my first day of school with me." She murmurs to herself confused and continues on her journey.

After breakfast, the girl of only sixteen takes a step out of the two story apartment and heads down to the first floor through the elevator. The road to her high school is slightly long so she has to make haste at some point. However, she feels no hurry and takes her time. This new high school is the alma mater of both her parents and her father.

"Good morning." The familiar face of her father puts her out of place. She always gets nervous around him for some reason, even though she knows he loves her very much. "On your way to school?"

"Ah, yes! Good morning, Mikado-san." Her reply is proper yet Ryugamine Mikado still frowns.

"I remember being called 'Mikatou' by you when you were smaller. I miss that kind of naming." Mikado says with a sulking face and she turns red immediately.

"Please stop remembering such things, Mikado-san! I'm so embarrassed by that!" With his almost identical face, she fumbles around and he can't help but chuckle. Mikado places a hand on top of her head to calm her down. His smile reassures her he won't poke fun at her.

"Well, I'll leave you alone. I have to get to work after all. Oh, and, congratulations on getting into Raira. I heard you got the top score." Softly smiling at her, Mikado takes his leave into the busy streets.

With deep breaths, she takes another route to school. That meeting left her flustered. Though he is her father in one sense, Mikado was not the one to raise her and she still felt something for him, partly due to his last name that she shared. Aside from that, it wasn't some sort of twisted love she also had for him but deep admiration and loyalty. The feeling was so overwhelming sometimes that it made her nervous.

The day becomes mere hours to her as her first day turns out to be very uneventful. A few teachers seem to recognize her family name and whisper rumors but none reach her ears. Though even if they did, she would never pay them much mind. To anyone else, she was a very normal child.

"Well, look who it is!" The fake blond approaches her as she was taking a slightly deserted road home. "Are you heading home now from school? I thought you would study at some sort of fancy rich school, but you're going to Raira, right?"

"That's right!" She replies enthusiastically at him. Compared to Mikado, who is the same age as this man, she is much more relaxed in his presence. "Masaomi-san, did you just get back to the city?"

Though she had noticed how tired he looked, Kida Masaomi still grinned at her. In a similar fashion as Mikado, the blond placed his hand on her head but ruffled her hair playfully. "That's right! Aw, man, a twelve hour ride is just killer man. But I'm going to do a harder one next week! I feel so abused!"

She laughed at his antics and he felt refreshed by her acts. "I'll see you later Masaomi-san."

"Okay, byebye! And say hi to your dad for me, 'kay? He rarely calls me anymore!" Masaomi joked around and walked on to his place. After he was gone from her sight, she went on her way. Though it was uneventful to her, she still had homework to do once she got back to her home.

Suddenly, a loud sound caught her attention. Not because she was surprised but because she recognized it anywhere. With a bright enthusiastic smile, she ran off towards the mayhem and destruction. People were running away in fear but she was attracted to that sound. Although not in the way others would assume.

"Shizuo-papa! Izaya-mama!" She called out to the perpetrators who had now frozen in place. The fake blond older than Masaomi had been pointing a broken sign at the slightly younger black haired man who was in turn pointing a knife at the blond with a grin in his face.

"Ah, Mikarin." Both replied at the same time with a surprised look. Heiwajima Shizuo was the first to let go and Orihara Izaya followed suit, not looking as remorseful as Shizuo did.

Ryugamine, because she had decided not be either Heiwajima or Orihara, Mikarin looked at both her parents with a pout on her face. "Are you two quarreling again? What did Izaya-mama do this time?"

"Whoa, hold on. Why do you assume I'm the one who did something here?" Izaya was clearly insulted by his daughter's comment and felt a flick on the head delivered by Shizuo.

Both looked at him with an 'Isn't it obvious?' look on their faces but Izaya pouted in response. "So? What did he do?" Mikarin asked once more, looking accusingly at Izaya.

"I wasn't in the wrong this time!" Izaya spoke in his own defense, in spite of the glare Shizuo directed at him. "Well, I'm right! Shizu-chan just has a short fuse! All I wanted was to give Mikarin a celebratory party!"

"Yet you wanted to invite someone as worst as you!" Shizuo yelled in response but saw Izaya grin.

"But Shizu-chan, annoying you is my reason for existing!" Izaya replied, almost in giggles.

"I thought you existed to love humans." Shizuo eyed him oddly but Izaya didn't back down.

"Oh, but Shizu-chan, you're sadly included among those too." And with that, Shizuo took a few steps back while trying to hide his blush. He was embarrassed about such a display of affection by Izaya.

"So, Izaya-mama wanted to invite Mikatou?" Mikarin made the mistake which caused both parents to look at her and she tried to cover her blush. "I-I mean, Mikado-san! I-I already saw him t-this morning! You don't need to invite him! Really!"

"Aw, you look like an ordinary school girl with a crush." Izaya commented happily but Shizuo flicked his head again.

"The world doesn't need another you! Much less as part of this family!" The comment caused all three to blush, including Shizuo who had made the comment. "Anyways, we're going to Russia Sushi!" He declared and started to drag Izaya.

"So cheap, Shizu-chan!" Izaya pouted, not making much fuss of the way he was being dragged.

"Oh, but I like Russia Sushi, Izaya-mama. Thanks Shizuo-papa." Mikarin commented with a smile, following behind her parents. She loved them the way they were, in any case.

From a nearby building, Mikado looked down on the happy family through a pair of binoculars. His grin seemed satisfied at the scene in his view. "They really make a good family. And the two are much better controlled, don't you think so Aoba-kun?" He eyed his kouhai, Kuronuma Aoba, who could barely talk through his restraints.

"They…do…sem…pai… So could you…please…maybe…let me go…?" He whimpered from pleasure when Mikado moved part of his restraints.

"Hmmm… Yeah, not yet, Aoba-kun." His reply was soft and for the moment, Mikado decided to get back to work. He could visit his beloved daughter some other time. For some time now, Mikado had been glad of his decision to leave his beloved girl in the hands of two maniacs. She cared about them as much as he did after all; and there was nothing really wrong with that.

**End**

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Sissy: For those of you who enjoyed the long, long drabble that is drabble 4; I hope you liked this one too. It was a nonsensical thing I thought of to show that Mikarin could grow up just fine, even with the environment she lived in. I keep saying I'm not a fan of shizaya but well, I hope their interactions seemed okay to the shizaya community. And that's all.


	16. Red & Green

**Title:** Red & Green**  
By:** Sissy

**Pairings:** None.**  
Warnings:** T!chapter. Based on pixiv IDno. 10425422 and the link will be placed on the profile. Sucky action scenes, because I fail at those.

* * *

The night was filled with lights from signs and buildings like always. All along the streets, people walked nonchalantly. At the moment, and only for the moment, they were safe from everything. They had no reason to fear because there was nothing to fear. A silent motorcycle races through the city and its streets, gaining looks from those who catch it by a glance. Suddenly, a low ring can be heard. The driver stops and picks up the call.

"My data tells me it's today, Celty-san. And it's started." At the words of the young male from the other side of the call, the driver looks up. Celty Sturluson can see the moon slowly turning red. "In front of the cinema on Sunshine, Celty-san! The reports are blowing through the forum!"

Without replying, Celty hangs up and revs away towards the designated location. Slowly, people are becoming agitated. Anyone can tell this. As Celty nears the cinema, all the people around have started to run away in fear. What should be feared has arrived.

"All this screaming is getting on my nerves. What the hell are you all running away for?" A blond man in a bartender suit asks with a glare as he huffs from his cigarette. His gaze directs itself upon Celty and the corner of his lips curl up to a smirk. "Two days a month I get an off day and I got to spend one of them with you?"

Celty utters no words and brings forth her phone. Tapping away at it, she finally directs it towards the man. It says, "As long as you continue your hostile actions, then the answer will always be yes."

"See, that's what I mean. I'm angry the rest of the month and I should be pissed about you but your honesty really catches me off guard." His grin widens and he takes slow steps towards Celty. His hand suddenly grabs hold of a sign nearby and he grips it tightly. It breaks and he holds it like a weapon. "I like you, so I might as well get a hobby by using you as a sparring partner."

The blond dashes forward and swings down the sign to hit Celty. With quick reflexes, Celty jumps out of harms' way. Her motorcycle has been abandoned but not forgotten. Positioning into an attack form, a dark shadow slowly oozes out from Celty's arm. It forms into a scythe and Celty holds it with both hands.

"Way more honest than that flea." He picks up the sign again and clashes for the first time in the night with Celty's weapon. It would be a long and arduous fight between the two that destroys most of the surroundings of the location they were in. Any passerby would record it with a camera or through messages. It happened once a month, but it still caught the attention of the citizens.

A full three hours pass by in what feels like an eternity and the blond stops his movements. Looking up, Celty follows his gaze to the moon. It has begun to wane and lose its redness. As it returns to normal, the blond brings out a new cigarette from its box and lights it up. He slowly takes a puff from it and huffs the smoke away. His hobby, as he calls it, can only last so long into the night.

"Have you calmed down?", reads the new words on Celty's phone.

"You don't get it, do you?" The man asks with a frown on his face. "Seriously, you're nice and all but if you keep attacking me then I'll return the favor. I like this run around with you but even I want to take two nights a month off." He grits his teeth as he remembers something in particular. Suddenly a wind blows and he realizes time has passed. Winter is coming.

As Celty's scythe disappears into her body, a new something springs forth. Tossing it over to the blond who catches it, he realizes it's a scarf. He smiles at her and wraps it around his neck. "Well, it'll appease for a while. Until I go home that is."

"Thank you, Shizuo-sama.", and with those written words, the blond known as Heiwajima Shizuo turns around. His figure retreats silently into the streets, still with his sign in hand, and softly disappears from view.

Celty returns to her motorcycle and mounts it. Without thinking it twice, she revs it up and rides away from the streets. She has to reach home soon and slumber. For tonight, her job is finished. At home was her family who waited for her arrival.

Something which the girl lacked in common. Her nights were always spent indoors; however, this was not done out of fear. She would entertain herself with various art and crafts projects or with books she liked to read. Often times, her friend would call to talk about anything in particular and kept her up. This night however, was special. She knew it so. All she had to do for now was wait. And then her phone rang.

"Oh, crap, crap! It's starting! I'll call you back!" The surprised voice on the other line hung up quickly and the girl walks out of her apartment. It begins now. The moon has started to turn green.

She closes her eyes and takes in the feeling of her surroundings. It's there. Close by.

Her phone catches her attention again and she picks it up. "Anri-chan, down below! He's actually in front of your building!" Hanging up the phone with even greater speed that the one who called her, Sonohara Anri jumps from her apartment floor towards the ground. Quickly, a sword comes out from her skin and it clashes on the ground against a knife. This clash stops her fall and she quickly dodges one attack to make her own.

"You are not allowed here." Anri threatens with a neutral face, uncaring in any way. This demonstrates how serious she is in her threat. However, the man in front of her does not know this.

"Oh, my. But you're the one who keeps calling me here." The black haired man grins and flicks his pocket knife in and out. He seems aloof to his surroundings or the girl's sword. But he has gotten used to such a thing by now.

"Will you leave?" She asks and takes slow steps towards the man.

"No way!" He answers and dodges the first strike from Anri's sword. "Really now? Your pseudo status is so boring! Shizu-chan moves way faster than that!" Almost in giggles, he started to dash when the second strike tried to make its way to his body. He clicked his tongue and sparks began to fly from the quick touches between blades.

As the sounds carried themselves throughout the neighborhood, curious onlookers popped their heads out from their windows. Some were in awe while others in fear. They had no idea what was happening or why. All they could do watch from afar and maintain their silence. Anything, even the faintest sound, could cause the blades to turn their way; they believed.

"So will you tell me tonight, or will you wait another month? I only have two freebies every month and I can only be here in one of them." The man tried to urge her to speak but Anri knew better. Words meant she could fall into some trap laid out by the man and that was something not possible. Not allowed. "Oh, come now! Even Shizu-chan is more talkative than you!"

"Then return to him and leave us be. You are not allowed here." Anri repeated the same words before resuming her attacks. She could not cease, not until it was time.

Without being allowed to further any future conversations, the man was pushed back without being hurt. It wasn't part of Anri's plan. Even she could tell the man was good at fighting and could easily destroy her. It was as if he enjoying playing around with her.

But the fun stopped soon enough. The man looks up and sees the moon slowly return to its original color. "Oh, that's lame. It's already time?" He shakes his head in disappointment, turning away from Anri and her blade.

"Goodbye Izaya-sama." Anri speaks to Orihara Izaya, who can only grin in response. His movements are quick and Anri suddenly feels a cut on her face. She looks back but cannot see the knife and when she returns her gaze to the offender, he has already disappeared.

For tonight, everything is over.

… … …

Morning dawns and people have begun to move on. Two nights a month, this happens and no one understands why. But both girls have yet to realize each other's existence. They have both yet to realize how alike they are.

"Okay, I give. What's your plan?" The young blond asks accusingly to his friend. This voice is the one on the other side of Anri's phone. "Honestly, the whole thing is putting Anri-chan in jeopardy. You really think it's going to be that easy?"

The black haired boy looks up from his screen to stare back at his friend. "Who cares about easy? I never thought of something like that from the beginning. And I'm not about to make this easy for you either. There's no need to share tactics." His voice belongs to the one aiding Celty from the other side of the line. The boy returns his gaze to his computer.

"May I join you today?" She has gathered her courage to ask and instantly, the blond nods. Anri softly sits down beside them both, wondering what their conversations are about when she's not around.

"Okay, I'm done with the calculations." The black haired boy saves his work and closes the laptop. He stands up to stretch and looks down to the two. "I'll head back in. There's something I have to hand in at the library."

"Oi, Mikado. What about lunch?" The blond asks curiously but Ryugamine Mikado shakes his head and walks away quietly. He knows they would need privacy soon. "So, stronger? Weaker? How was he?"

"Stronger. But he refuses to show all his strength. I'm not sure when he ever will." Anri replies, sounding almost sad which seemed to be a completely different feeling from the previous night. "Do you truly I can win against him, Kida-kun?"

Kida Masaomi softly smiles and caresses her injured cheek which has been covered by a thin bandage. "Even if he seems difficult, I know you can beat him. In the meantime, it's enough to keep him at bay." It was almost the same words Mikado typed in a chatroom the morning after Celty's fight.

"As long as you keep him away, we'll be fine." Tanaka Taro spoke to Setton in an encouraging way.

"I know. But it seems pointless sometimes." Setton had replied almost unenthusiastically. "He won't stop and I start wondering what it's all for."

"To stop the end of the world, you've become the heroine. Don't forget that." These words were the same and both supporters and conspirators had spoken them to their fighters. What did the girls have in common, only they knew. What did they fight for, only they knew. What it meant from the beginning, only they knew. And how it would end was anyone's guess now.

**End?**

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Sissy: I had a lot of fun with this one since there was originally no reason to explain this as much as I did. By the end, I felt like I was writing Madoka (oh, noes!) but what comes next is up for grabs. It was supposed to be nonsensical or something like that but, hope you all enjoyed it anyways! Xd


	17. One Photo

**Title:** One Photo**  
By:** Sissy

**Pairings:** None.**  
Warnings:** T!chapter. Based on pixiv IDnos. 9937391 & 8945009 and the links will be placed on the profile. Random plotless short short fluff.

* * *

Mikado had a hard time setting this up. He read the manual five or six times yet he still had to do it step by step. Masaomi was tired of waiting and brought Anri with him to make this quick. He had too much energy to waste it all waiting for Mikado. Without letting Mikado stop him, he made a quick program and brought Anri close to the lens. Mikado tried to get closer to the two but Masaomi thought it funny to keep him away with his right hand while his left flashed a victory sign. Anri was nervous about her location and what happened behind her that she simply focused on keeping steady. Mikado was so surprised that in the five seconds that it took for them to get in position, he ended up halfway out of the picture.

"So you're saying it's my fault? Is that it Mikado?" Masaomi looked hurt as he remembered the events of that long ago day.

"Of course it's your fault Masaomi! Don't try to smile your way out of this!" Mikado pouted and his best friend grinned with glee. He seemed to enjoy looking at Mikado like this.

"Should I set this up now?" Anri asked curiously, looking at the camera in her hands. Even now, after all this time, she was too shy to speak up to them. But unlike around the time the first photo was taken, they had both learned to pay close attention to their friend.

"If it's for Anri-chan, I'll do it happily!" Masaomi declared joyfully and sat down next to Anri.

"That's nice and all but will you calm down for at least one photo?" Mikado asked angrily and walked over to Anri with a smile. "I'll do it Anri. I've got it figured out by now." With those words, the camera passed hands and Masaomi grinned happily.

In a matter of seconds, Mikado had finished setting up and placed it on the ground, tilting it upwards a bit. He sat down next to Masaomi and waited for a while before Masaomi spoke up. "Oh, man! I got a beauty at each side!" He announced his realization as he laughed joyfully. Instantly, Mikado couldn't help but laugh at his comment too. Anri kept quiet but she smiled nonetheless, feeling slightly flattered by his words.

As a plane had finished passing by, Mikado opened one eye towards the camera. The clicking sound of a picture being taken passed by in a second and a new memory was taken. It was just one photo but it piled with the rest to create an album of their youth together.

**End**

* * *

Sissy: This was short and plotless but let's face it. Adorable. Alright, it's probably just me that thinks so.


	18. A love to last a lifetime

**Title:** A love to last a lifetime**  
By:** Sissy

**Pairings:** szms + izmk + cran**  
Warnings:** T!chapter. Big OOC-ness. First scene based on pixiv IDno. 10987723 and whole plot based on IDno. 11456505. Short chapters lately…

* * *

"Will the defendant please state their name for the record?" Kida Masaomi said with authority in his voice to Sonohara Anri. The girl didn't know why she was being questioned this way and when she tried to glance over to her friend, Ryugamine Mikado, Masaomi would bang the notebook he had rolled up against his leg. "I order, order!"

"That made no sense Masaomi." Mikado tapped away at his phone while munching on the piece of pocky stick his friend had brought earlier.

"I make the rules in this court, Prosecutor Ryugamine!" Masaomi pouted while banging the notebook again as if he were a judge. "Now, state your name for the record!"

"Do I really…?" Anri had tried to ask but Masaomi banged the notebook again with the same words. With a deep sigh, Anri replied. "Sonohara Anri."

"You are to represent yourself, Defendant Sonohara! Now, answer me this! Do you accept you were seen yesterday in a lovey-dovey date with your lover by both Judge Kida and Prosecutor Ryugamine?" Masaomi asked accusingly and Anri tried to look at Mikado for help but the other was still too busy with his phone. "Do you hear me, Defendant Sonohara? What are our laws?"

"Ryugamine-kun is also breaking them right now." Anri pointed over to Mikado who looked up nonchalantly and had his phone stolen by Masaomi.

Glaring at his best friend, he banged the notebook again. "Prosecutor Ryugamine has been denominated as Defendant Ryugamine from now on! Do you accept breaking our laws, Defendant Ryugamine? Do not deny it; I have the proof in my hands!"

"Yes, Masaomi, I'm communicating with my lover during school hours. I admit it. Now give me my phone back." Mikado didn't seem pleased with his best friend's actions anymore and demanded the return of his mobile.

"And I admit to not announcing my date beforehand to the pact. Please forgive me." Anri apologized and gave him a deep bow before grabbing hold of her lunch.

Clicking his tongue, Masaomi handed the phone back to Mikado. "Both defendants are forgiven. I'm just lonely since I haven't gotten to see my lover in a while. Unlike Mikado, who enjoys being used by his."

"Guilty as charged." Mikado had no problem nodding in agreement to that.

"Or Anri-chan whose lover likes to spend time with her." Masaomi sighed with placing a pocky stick in his mouth.

"That's true." Anri slurped on the juice box with a red face.

Suddenly, a fit of gleeful giggles was heard in the distance and all three turned to the couple nearby. They were enjoying themselves under the sun, paying no mind to anyone around. Anri immediately glanced at them with a longing look on her face while Masaomi tilted his head in envy. Mikado simply kept quiet while seeming slightly displeased by their show of affection.

"It's decided. I'm announcing to the pact that I'll be visiting my lover today, whether they want to or not." Masaomi spoke up and finished his pocky stick in one gulp. "I know I said I was going to be patient, but I want love too!"

"Then I shall make the same announcement." Anri nodded and turned to her food shyly.

"In your case, Anri-chan, it's the same whether you announce it or not." Masaomi laughed and took another stick before he glanced over to his best friend.

"I'm being ordered to make an appearance so my announcement's the same." Mikado nodded to both of them though they could tell he was really pleased with the summons.

With lunch time behind all three, what was left for them was to wait until classes ended. Although it passed by pretty quickly, it did not come soon enough. Once the day was over, all three left school together. They walked at a normal pace though their hearts were running a mile a minute.

"Oh, Mikado, that CD you wanted to borrow. I'll lend it to you tomorrow, okay?" Masaomi turned the conversation forward by talking about useless things. He just wanted to pass the time by until they met with their respective lovers.

"Ah, it's okay. I wasn't in any hurry to hear it." Mikado replied and suddenly noticed Anri stop. He and Masaomi turned around to see their friend looking elsewhere with a happy smile. "See you tomorrow Sonohara-san."

"See ya Anri-chan!" Masaomi grinned at the girl, who slowly bowed to them with a blush on her face and hurried to a black-dressed rider nearby. "Wait for it…" Masaomi and Mikado stared at the reunion.

"Hello Celty-san." Anri smiled brightly to the woman and was greeted with a pet and a caress to her cheek. The girl's blush deepened and her sense of happiness exploded to the surroundings. Masaomi acted as though a bright light blinded him for a moment before laughing. In that moment, Anri's lover, Celty Sturluson, invited Anri to her motorcycle and both rode away.

"Now that's pure love, my friend. Even when Anri gets jealous and shows her evil side." Masaomi grinned and started walking away with Mikado when the boy brought out his phone. "Don't tell me…" The fake blond frowned and tried to back away as Mikado showed him in phone with the words 'guess who' on them.

Masaomi shielded his eyes as an arm wrapped itself around Mikado's eyes and waist. "Found you~" The man's voice uttered contently and Mikado began to shake. "Ooh, excited already? I haven't even started."

"Public indecency! Izaya-san is committing public indecency!" Masaomi spoke while still shielding his eyes from the scene in front of him. He didn't seem to want to see his best friend in that situation.

"Oh but Mikado-kun enjoys it so." Orihara Izaya didn't seem to mind Masaomi bad mouthing him and turned Mikado's gaze to him. What faced him was a very red Mikado, who seemed like he was about to lose control of his pleasure. "Right. Let's go home. There's some things I'd like you to do for me." Grinning, Izaya took Mikado away by the hand.

Leaving Masaomi all alone, the fake blond pouted and continued on his way. He had already known where to go so it didn't matter how much he was sidetracked by his friends' love affairs. In the end, all he had to do was look up to find who he wanted to find. Even if the streets were full of people, there was no way to miss that bundle of hair.

"…!" Masaomi's mouth became wide as he smiled. His face showed how gleeful he felt by turning his cheeks red. With a sprint, he ran towards one man in particular while shouting, "Shizuo-san!"

"Masaomi!" The other fake blond, Heiwajima Shizuo, was caught by surprise when Masaomi jumped in his arms. His own blush covered nearly all his face as he tried to make sure Masaomi didn't fall from his grasp.

"How cute~! Shizuo-san looks so adorable!" Masaomi exclaimed out loud without fear of being looked at wrong. "I'm so glad I saw you today!"

As Shizuo looked a bit troubled he sighed, only sounding slightly exhausted. "You went and told your friends you were coming to see me, right?" At his question, Masaomi nodded happily.

"The pact is sacred for us, Shizuo-san. So play with me today!" Masaomi held his hands high and saw his beloved raise his hand to ruffle his hair. That's as far as any of them went. At least, until all three reached the proper age.

"Let's go then. Don't get lost." Shizuo smiled with happiness in his eyes and Masaomi followed suit. They were a bit in their own world, much like the other two pair but this wasn't something they would trade for the world.

**End**

* * *

Sissy: Wait, what? Even I don't know man. The main idea was just a blast of love, but somewhere along the way, I lost what I wanted to say. There was a previous scene where they were originally just talking a lot about love and their lovers (with Aoba in the group doing nothing) and then meeting up with those lovers. Oh, I'll just leave it like this for now.


	19. Revenge

**Title:** Revenge**  
By:** Sissy

**Pairings:** kraomr + iznm + light!msan**  
Warnings:** M!chapter. Character death. Based on pixiv IDno. 10669411.

* * *

The light of the moon shimmered on the surface of the lake. It was silent now, as nothing disrupted its tranquility. The two lone onlookers stared at the waters, standing very close to the edge. Their feelings were muddled, much unlike the lake, as they knew they had done something terrible. There was no way to undo the damage. But it had been necessary.

"I wonder…" The boy on the left began to speak lowly and the girl at his side looked up at him with a curious gaze. "Will he ever forgive us for this?" However, instead of replying to his question, the girl grabbed his hand and squeezed it, as if trying to reassure him. Silently, they kept watch until it was time to leave. They turned around and walked away without looking back.

… … …

"Aobachin! We're home! Break out the snacks!" The girl with the two-tailed braided hair burst into the room along with her twin, though this one had short hair. They immediately faced a young boy in front of a computer, tapping away information to store.

He stopped for a moment to face the two, frowning as he did so. "Today is chin? Will you ever make up your mind? And you can look for the snacks yourself, you know where they are." He replied and turned away from them, back to the computer screen.

"Buu~ Aobachin is so mean! And here we are doing all your legwork!" The longhaired twin pouted and walked away from the shorthaired twin towards the small kitchen area. As she searched for the snacks, her twin stepped towards the single-minded boy and sat down next to him at his left.

"What is it Kururi?" He asked of her while continuing his work, without even looking at her.

"Home." She simply replied in a low voice. That caused him to stop his hands and turn to her with a smile. Petting her head, he replied, "Welcome home Kururi. You too, Mairu. Welcome home."

"You're so late in saying so, Aobachin!" Orihara Mairu scolded her roommate, Kuronuma Aoba, and handed her older twin, Orihara Kururi, a bag of chips before sitting down on Aoba's other side. Clearing her throat, she began speaking. "Three new incident reports have come in. One is another sighting of the will o' wisp at the park lake. And the other two swear they've seen the famous ghost walking at night."

Aoba typed down all the extreme details Mairu recited before saving them in his documents. "Thanks for all your hard work, you two." He thanked them both and felt them grab his arms tightly. "Seriously? I can't type anymore like this, you know."

"You don't need to type anymore, Aobachin! Come on, Kuru-nee! Kiss, kiss!" Mairu and Kururi pulled the boy down to the floor and loomed over him before giving him lots of kisses with a smile. The boy accepted their love with a grin, knowing the girls needed that more than he did. But he didn't mind. The girls were also important to him.

…

The blond man walked along the road with a cigarette in his mouth. His eyes hid behind a frame of sunglasses and they looked around for something in particular. He had been looking for some time now and it felt like it would take forever before he found what he sought. But he knew he'd find it eventually. All he needed was to keep his calm in the meantime. That's what he was told, anyway.

"Shizuo-kun!" A second man in a white lab coat comes forward with a smile. He lowers his hand and fixes his glasses into place. "No luck, right? Celty sent me a message just now that she finished her rounds. She didn't find them either. I'm very worried." The man frowned and saw the blond take a whiff of his cigarette.

"I know. They haven't come around in a while. But I know they're nearby." The blond takes a few glances around the vicinity to monitor any sudden movements. For the moment, he has yet to find it.

"Oh! Celty!" The man in the lab coat turns around with a smile as the driver of a black motorcycle in all black clothing stops next to the two. "Good work today!"

"It isn't good if we haven't found a clue. I'm really worried, Shinra." The rider brought out a PDA and wrote a message for them on it. Kishitani Shinra simply smiled as Celty Sturluson had written the same words he spoke to Heiwajima Shizuo just a few moments ago. "Do you think he's alright? That boy had a pretty big wound last time."

Shinra looked upset at those words and Shizuo turned around as he heard the doctor speak. "Well normally, I'd say he'd probably need to go to a hospital. But if what you and Shizuo-kun saw was true, I'd say he's only hurting pretty badly. I hope we find them soon, for your sake Celty."

As Shinra walked closer to Celty to ease her worries, Shizuo seemed to have sensed something and ran towards it. Celty and Shinra were caught by surprise and Shinra jumped on Celty's bike before the woman followed after the blond. As she zigzagged through the streets, Celty soon came upon Shizuo who looked a bit irked at something.

"What is it?" She asked through her PDA, seemingly worried about him.

"I know I saw them, or at least felt their presence but they got away from me. If they can outrun me, then that must mean they're fine, right? So why the hell don't they just tell us that?" Crushing the cigarette in his mouth, he spit it out angrily.

Celty and Shinra could somehow understand how he felt but decided to keep quiet in the meantime. For now, all they could do was wait and search until they came across those they sought.

…

"What on earth are you doing now?" The cold-looking woman asked with a glare at the man behind the desk. He seemed to be in a state of glee as he typed on the keyboard of three different computers. She seemed slightly disgusted by his actions.

"Just researching and answering messages. People love me, you know." He answered with a low laugh. The man was pleased with the work he was currently conducting. "Looks like the two groups have gotten larger lately. I'll have to get those useless blue people to squash them a bit."

"Your plan makes no sense. I thought you didn't care about them." The woman seemed confused as she walked forward to the man with a file in hand. She tried to look at the screens but wasn't able to see well.

"I didn't care about them because I originally didn't know the leaders. I know their faces but I've yet to find anything on them. THAT'S why I'm interested in them now. And THAT'S why I want to destroy them." The man grinned joyfully until he noticed something on one of his screens. "Ooh, he's on again."

The woman seemed confused and got a bit closer. "Who are you talking about?"

"Oh, just a little something I'm playing with on the side. It's nothing important, just fun." He tried to hide his chuckle while replying to messages being sent to him now. "Now, now. You can't be like that."

"You're disgusting Izaya." The woman turned away when she heard the man laugh to himself.

"But Namie-san, I love you too!" Orihara Izaya replied nonchalantly to Yagiri Namie yet his words fell on deaf ears.

… … …

"We didn't find anything new, did we? So why are we staying here, aside from ignoring our school homework?" Mairu asked cutely as she had her arm wrapped around Aoba's right arm. Kururi was to his left, in the same fashion as her younger twin. They were all currently watching an all-out brawl fight that had caused quite a lot of people to run away from the scene.

"I read something interesting last night so we're waiting for this to finish." Aoba replied and felt tight grips from both girls. "Don't tell me you two want to go back? Give me some breathing room here. I'll die if I have to handle you both every night." Sighing, he felt them both ease their grips and he smiled.

"Done." Kururi murmured and saw the last punch being thrown. A blond boy stood still, his breathing a bit erratic as some blood flowed from a wound. Some other people wearing something in yellow came up towards him to help him out. Aoba nodded to the two girls and they came forward as well.

As the three were coming near, someone else interrupted the group's celebration of their victory. She came silently and stopped just in front of the blond. Looking seriously at him, she spoke no words. He frowned and pet her head, trying to smile for her. They heard him apologize to his group and the two began to leave the area. Looking at the two girls by his side, they nodded in agreement and followed the two as quietly as they could.

Where the two walked in to, caused Aoba to grin happily. It was the very same park with the very same lake they were researching. The two stopped just in front of said lake before speaking. "You're right. It's weaker. Damn it, I didn't think of this. It hadn't even crossed my mind. So what now?"

"An adequate sacrifice could make it stronger. Finding one however, might be harder than we think." The conversation seemed to make no sense to the three but they remained silent to continue hearing the rest.

"No, we already have them. An adequate one. Two in fact. But I just don't want to part with it." He sighed and pulled the yellow scarf around his neck closer to him. It was getting chilly now. As she felt the air get colder as well, a sudden noise caught their attention and they ran away from the lake.

"What do you think?" Aoba asked his companions who kept an eye out for what made the sudden noise.

"They know something about the ghost. But what do they mean by 'weaker'? What is weaker?" Mairu tried to think things through but nothing made sense to all three.

"Sacrifice?" Kururi asked and they nodded.

"What are they sacrificing? And why? Maybe to please the ghost? Maybe it's dying?" Mairu tried to think of an adequate answer when they heard someone arrive.

"You sure somebody saw them coming through here?" Shizuo asked Shinra with an angry tone of voice however, Shinra simply sighed and nodded in response. "They ain't here, dammit!"

With a grin, Aoba came out from the shadows. "If you're looking for the couple that was just here, they went that way." He pointed Shizuo and Shinra in the correct direction. The two were surprised to see the twins with him but left quickly without another word. "Isn't that even more interesting?" Aoba smirked and the twins pulled him down to the floor.

Though he was surprised, he felt a bit scared by the looming bodies of the twins. "Then we'll go ask Shizuo-san for information. In the meantime, give us an advance?" Mairu cutely asked and Kururi nodded in agreement. Aoba was forced to comply though he didn't mind it so much.

…

Izaya strolled down the road when he heard his phone call out to him. "What do you have to say today, hmmm…?" He asked with a hint of joy in his voice and quickly moved away when something fell near. "Shizu-chan, don't be so mean. I'm not here to waste my time with you today."

"Get the fuck out of my sight." Shizuo warned with hostility in his voice. Izaya quickly noticed the two girls hanging from his arms with a smile and both waved to him. "Would you two let go now?"

"Buu! But we like being near you Shizuo-san!" Mairu quickly retorted and grinned to her older twin. "Right, Kuru-nee?"

"Correct." Kururi nodded in agreement but still let go of Shizuo, causing her younger twin to follow suit.

"Well, this is a nice family reunion but what are you two doing here anyways? I'd heard you both had been wasting your time by abusing some boy at school." Izaya asked his younger sisters and Mairu quickly started laughing at him while Kururi hid her chuckle.

Even Shizuo somehow had to stop himself from joining their fun but Mairu stopped and smiled. "You've got your information wrong, Iza-nii! Kuru-nee and I have a lover! We're being well taken care of!" Her smile turned into a sly one that caught the attention of both her older brother and Shizuo, both of whom could imagine what type of care she implied.

"Time." Kururi reminded Mairu suddenly and the younger twin nodded.

"Well, thanks for the info, Shizuo-san! You've helped a lot!" Mairu thanked the older man and ran off with her twin, interlocking the fingers of their joined hands.

"Now that was odd. What information did those two want from you that they couldn't get from me?" Izaya asked Shizuo who suddenly turned to look somewhere else. He had noticed them since they were both calling out to him. Taking a moment to glare at Izaya, Shizuo walked away from the crazed man.

Izaya didn't see who Shizuo had seen but he still felt slightly insulted when he was ignored. However, now that the other was out of his sight, he could resume the work he had been planning on doing in the area.

…

"You met with them?" Shinra asked first once Shizuo sat in his couch.

"Did they seem okay?" Celty typed in her question, her body motion seemingly worried.

"They said they didn't want too much attention on them, so they don't want us searching for them anymore. They said they wanted to find something without catching anyone's attention but that someone else had been searching into them now and it was getting dangerous." Shizuo recalled their words with ease, trying not to sound angry.

"Are they going into hiding then?" Shinra asked curiously, wondering what their next move should be.

"I get this feeling like there's something they haven't done yet. Something that's important to them." Shizuo mumbled more to himself than anyone but Celty still replied to him.

"Then shouldn't we try and find them before they're gone for good?"

Shizuo grabbed a smoke and looked out the window. Something stunk to him. Especially since he saw the twins and Izaya the other time on the streets. Those two had asked about the people they had been searching for and it bothered him somewhat. Seeing Izaya just simply irked him but he had to ignore it for the moment. There were other things more important at the moment.

… … ….

Aoba heard the humming first and the twins were the ones to stop to look for the source. The song was old, from a series they hadn't seen in a while so they really wanted to see who was humming it. A few seconds later, a happy teen passed them by but stopped to face Aoba.

"Can you hold on to this for me?" He suddenly asked with a bright smile. "It's got the code for the admin account but I can't use it for a while. I'll ask for it back some other time. Thanks." And with that he skipped happily away from the trio. Aoba looked at the red phone in his hands curiously, wondering why some random stranger would decide to just hand him his phone.

"Institute?" Kururi asked and Mairu simply shrugged in response. "Site?"

"Yeah, I was wondering that too." Aoba responded to Kururi's question and turned on the phone to fiddle with it even though it wasn't his. A certain forum Aoba recognized was listed as its homepage but there was no such code for any administrator account. "Maybe it's somewhere else on it…"

"Oh, who cares about that? We were on our long awaited date!" Mairu grabbed the phone away from Aoba and hid it in one of her pockets. Then, with a carefree smile, she and Kururi resumed to dragging Aoba around the town. None of them noticed the strange teen still around, humming to himself while dancing.

…

"You're right, it's a pretty long and well researched rumor. Who's compiling this information?" The blond teen asked Celty with an angry glance.

"I don't know. Just that it's someone from the same forum. Sorry." Celty typed in her apology on a notepad application on the computer before handing the computer back to the teen.

"Oh, please don't apologize, Celty-san. I'm actually glad you came to find us about this anyways. I was worried about what kind of attention we could grab but if we're related to this rumor, it's much bigger than we imagined." The teen explained cryptically and looked over to his companion.

The black haired girl glanced over to him as well, looking to be in thought. "Is it possible this is the work of that man? He's been trying to find information about us for a while now."

"Orihara-san? I thought about it too. But I don't think he'd go through all the trouble of compiling this information for everyone to see." The teen explained and saw Shizuo growling. "If it's necessary, I'm sure you'll be able to hit him a few times."

"I'd have to catch that flea first." Shizuo responded and was handed some milk by Shinra.

"All fleas on an animal are eventually caught, Shizuo-san. They have a limited life like any other living being." The teen reminded him seriously, causing Shizuo to grin. His words always found some way to brighten up Shizuo's day.

"What'll you do now? Are you two planning on going somewhere?" Celty asked them once the teen looked at her typing.

"There's something we have to do first. I really didn't want to part with it but it's necessary for protecting you all. It has to be done." The teen sighed sadly and took off his scarf. "We'll do it tonight."

…

"Where are you going, Izaya?" Namie asked, noticing how happy the other looked. He seemed about to dance with joy. Of course, seeing as Izaya felt nothing but joy at the moment, he did just that and jumped over to the cold-looking woman and forced her into a dance with him. "He-hey! Let go!"

"Don't wanna!" Izaya laughed and caused the woman to wonder what exactly was going through his mind at the moment. "You and I, Namie-san, because you don't have a choice in the matter, are going out on a date! We're going to meet my online friend so I can squash his hopes and dreams!"

"Hell no!" Namie tried to refuse but knew she couldn't. There was no way to say 'no' to Izaya, at least for her there wasn't.

"But we're going to finally meet! I thought you wanted to know who I was chatting with!" Izaya grinned and Namie simply gave up, going along with the flow of Izaya's dance.

… … …

They stood side-by-side holding onto each other's hands for support. Shizuo, Celty and Shinra stood a few feet away from them, silently watching their movements. All three were kept in the dark by the two yet they still chose to come. They were worried about those two after all.

Aoba, Kururi and Mairu stood silently away from their gaze. None of them had noticed the small group since it had been their intention to remain in the dark. They had only come to that place because of the message on that strange phone. Curiosity got the better of them after all.

Only Izaya and Namie had yet to arrive. To them, everything that was happening there was unknown since their plans had been different. Unfortunately, it was somehow interconnected to everyone else's plans. They were simple bystanders, in a way, but that would soon change.

The first thing the two did was walk on top of the lake. All six watching the scene had almost stopped breathing from the shock. The boy who held his scarf with his free hand lifted said hand and let the scarf fall down onto the water. However, it first burst into flames before touching the water. The ashes, still lit, made various ripples that extended themselves to form a strange yellow colored pattern.

Looking over to his companion, who was shaking slightly, he saw her lift up her free hand and let a sword fall into the water. It had come from inside her own being and it saddened her to let go of it. Once inside the water, it caused red ripples that were symmetrical to the yellow ones.

As their eyes glowed with the same color of their respective ripples, they saw something go wrong. Bubbles reached the surface and they noticed a third pattern in blue cover their own. They knew exactly what caused it and were alarmed by it.

"Run away from here!" They turned to their comrades who had asked to watch but were too late. The water exploded from underneath them and they were both covered in it. Without the ability to move, much less talk, they weren't able to explain from what the three needed to run from.

Shizuo had been in shock. In a matter of seconds, both had been submerged into the lake. Celty had tried to reached with black shadows that were a part of her but wasn't there on time. Shinra had no words but noticed the humming first. He knew the voice after all.

"Oh, Shinra? And Celty and Shizu-chan? Isn't this a nice gathering? Are you all here for a stroll?" Izaya asked unaware of what was happening at the moment. But he soon found out when Namie tugged on his arm.

"Good evening." The teen said with a smile, sitting on the railing of the edge of the lake. No one had seen where he came from but the three that remained hidden had recognized him first. Of course, they chose to remain hidden just in case.

"You must be Tanaka-san!" Izaya grinned and brought Namie closer to him, not realizing that Shizuo had yet to move to attack him. If he had, he would've known something was strange.

The teen nodded happily, blushing almost lightly, as he got down from the railing. "Nice to finally meet you Kanra-san, or should I say, Izaya-chan. And you must be Namie-kun, right? Izaya-chan likes to talk about you a lot."

Both had been caught by surprise and Namie noticed the weight on her when Izaya limped over. She noticed there was something wrong first; however, "IZAYA-KUN!" Shinra had been the first to scream. It took everything for Mairu and Kururi not to scream either. Aoba knew since they had used his hands to bite down their screams.

"So let me explain something." The teen jumped back on the railing instead of sitting on it like before. His left hand was covered in red liquid Shizuo knew well to be blood. "I don't actually like Izaya-chan, no matter how much he deluded himself into thinking that. I was just angry he thought he could get away with playing around with me. Of course, I did show my thanks since he made me what I am now."

"What the hell are you?" Shizuo managed to spit out with a glare, still unable to move for some reason.

"The same as Masaomi and Anri, of course! You two are their guardians, right? They always did like the strong. Of course, I think it's stupid now. I killed mine after all." He glanced over to Izaya, whom Shinra was trying to resuscitate while Namie held onto his hand with a tearful expression.

"Where are they?" Celty demanded to know and the teen tilted his head.

"Down there. I thought that was obvious. After all, that's the place they locked me in all this time. I was just returning the favor. Masaomi and Anri never seemed happy about my growth or my meddling with your time." He explained and jumped over the two with a smile. "Now, since I'm finally free. I should thank that baby for getting everyone's attention to shift from my two best friends to me and making sure they noticed me too."

Aoba and the twins came out from the shadows and the rest noticed them. Shinra, who had stopped by now, saw the twins who were still crying and felt somehow guilty for no reason.

"Now, since I just killed mine, you'll have to be my new guardian, Aoba-chan. I can't be without one and honestly, I don't think you should say no. Actually, I won't let you say no, okay?" He seemed a bit pushy but Aoba nodded nonetheless. It was as if he feared suffering the same fate as Izaya, but he cared more about leaving the twins alone than anything. "Great! Let's go home then!"

"You're not going anywhere!" Shizuo roared and lounged for the teen with a glare. However, he never expected to fall to the floor like Izaya did. His breathing hurt yet he was still alive. That much he knew. He just couldn't move.

"Masaomi would be sad if you died and Anri would cry so I can't kill you. So please don't try that again." The teen warned with a soft smile and pushed Aoba away from the scene.

The rest were left to their own devices. Shinra quickly called for an ambulance since Shizuo's blood loss was too much for him to do anything about it. Celty tried to take Namie away from the scene but the other refused to leave Izaya's side so she waited with her, trying her hardest to console the devastated woman.

… … …

"There are a bit of paradoxes here but I finished the loops." He explained once he came back to the three. They were watching that show Mairu and Kururi wanted to watch since they hadn't seen it for a while. Though the only reason they remembered was because time had passed enough for them to recall the memory. "You two remembered since you saw me humming it and I hummed it so you would remember. It's not a problem but it does create a bit of irregularities at some point. It's basically what helps me travel."

"We don't care." Mairu responded for both her and Kururi since they were more interested in the show.

He immediately pouted, hoping someone would ask for his knowledge since he didn't have anyone to share it with. "This is why Izaya-chan was useful. Now I kinda wish I didn't kill him. So bored!" Rolling all over the floor, he tried to entertain himself with something, anything.

"Namie-san is showing her belly. It's growing steadily. Maybe you can teach it stuff so it'll talk to you." Mairu suggested, taking a potato chip into her mouth. "Though Namie-san will most likely teach it to hate you since you killed Iza-nii."

"Aw, you look cute pouting Mairu-kun." He seemed please with himself for some reason. "And I could just steal it."

"You can't." A unison of three voices spoke to him and he started rolling on the floor again.

"This is sooo boring! And Masaomi and Anri won't be free for another three hundred and forty five years so I need to do something to entertain myself." He sighed and started watching the show with them again, humming the intro song to himself. "I'll admit watching every show in existence will keep me entertained. There was this one book I found interesting."

"Can't you just go back to being a ghost?" Aoba asked for the umpteenth time since meeting face-to-face with this teen.

"Regretting me asking you to research me?" He asked happily and saw Aoba nod. With a sniffle, he quieted down in a corner and kept to himself for the time being. As carefree as he was, for some reason Aoba had yet to find out, the teen would obey almost any order from Aoba.

But since he was mostly harmless and somehow reminded the twins of Izaya, for various obvious reasons, they decided to just try and restrain him as much as possible by entertaining him with various things. Not that the teen minded. He just simply enjoyed doing anything as long as he didn't stop.

**End**

* * *

Sissy: Uh, so… I just liked the picture a lot then had the beginning set but somehow turned the ending slightly tragic. One option was to kill Masaomi and Anri or both Shizuo and Celty but I decided to go with this. It'd be cool if someone thought this merited a longer story line and we worked together or whatever to give it life. Just a thought… But it's somehow complicated, right?


	20. Side B: Received Emotion

**Title:** Side B: Received Emotion**  
By:** Sissy

**Pairings:** None.**  
Warnings:** T!chapter. Slightly similar to chapter 12 but at the same time, completely different.

* * *

For a long time now, she has been happy. The ones closest to her have noticed it; however, they do not the reason why. All they know for certain is that she smiles more with each passing day. And time flows on without worry.

"Anri-sempai, you look lovely today too!" A girl with braids and glasses yells from an open window to a girl who is leaving the premises of the school.

The girl who is being called gets startled and looks up with a soft smile. She waves good-bye and continues on her way. She's greeted by a couple heading home and the girl of the pair grins before wishing her good luck. The girl thanks her and continues down the road. As she nears the intended location, she hears a voice.

"Oh! Anri-chan! It's been a while!" The first person to greet her when she arrives is a blond around her age. His smile is radiating and infectious.

"Hello again Sonohara-san." A second boy smiles in her direction, happy to see her again. He's much calmer than the blond but he radiates a feeling of complacency that she can't help but smile towards him.

Giving them both a soft bow, they turn her around and continue walking alongside her. "Now, for today's excursion, we're going to sneak into the…"

"Don't you dare, Masaomi!" The second boy stopped the first from suggesting anything dangerous. "We're just going to take a walk around the park today. There's a lot of things to do there anyways."

"Oh, fine! Whatever you say, Mikado. Puun pun!" The blond, Masaomi, agreed with a pout and his companion, Mikado, simply shook his head. The girl, Sonohara Anri, held in her chuckle and noticed them smiling towards her.

On the way, they stopped by an ice cream shop and the two boys waited for Anri to come out. Before that, they saw a motorcycle stop in front of the shop and the rider walk towards them. Masaomi remained stationary while Mikado turned around to face the person.

"Hello again." Mikado repeated the words on the PDA in front of him.

"Yo!" Masaomi smiled and saluted to her from his position.

"Are you visiting Anri-chan today? If so, please avoid Sunshine. Shizuo and Izaya are fighting over there. Oh, really? Thank you Celty-san!" Mikado seemed happy for some reason and Masaomi placed his hand over the boy's head to pet him.

"Thanks Celty-san." Masaomi repeated with a grin and they all saw Anri come out of the shop.

"Oh, hello Celty-san." She greeted with a soft smile and a light blush on her cheeks causing Masaomi to try and hug her but was stopped when Mikado caused the blond to trip over to the floor. "Did something happen?"

The biker, Celty, shook her head and walked away. Before she left, however, she wrote once last thing for Anri. "I'm glad you're looking happier recently." Mikado and Masaomi repeated for no reason, causing Anri to blush even harder.

"That's all cute and all, but let's go!" Masaomi declared once Celty was out of sight and they proceeded to walk again. Their destination this time around became their first meeting place. Mikado enjoyed it a lot, as did Anri, while Masaomi found it that the two were being mushy.

All three sat down on a nearby bench and Masaomi quickly started greeting any passing female but none of them pay attention to him. Mikado chuckled as he and Anri glanced at each other. They both remembered how they had met.

Because at that time, Anri still had been depressed. Nothing had made her happy until the two appeared with a radiating glow.

"Lift up that chin of yours! A pretty damsel should always be smiling! Right, Mikado?" Masaomi spoke first at that time. He always seemed to have an excess of energy.

"I agree for once." Mikado concurred with a nod and she had looked at them surprised.

"Who…who are you?" Anri had asked confused, taken by surprise since she had never noticed them arrive. Both males had looked equally taken by shock and Masaomi, once more, was the first to respond.

"If you ask us who we are then there's but only one answer…!"

"Masaomi, what are you talking about? It's because she doesn't know us that she's asking who we are." Mikado interjected with a saddened sigh and a shake of his head.

The blond quickly pouted while saying, "Come on, man! Don't just ruin my fun! Punpun!"

"Where'd that come from?" Mikado looked confused, trying to understand his companion.

"Some informer, I think." Masaomi answered with a shrug. He didn't seem to care about it that much.

With a laugh, Mikado responded, "Man, you just grab the weirdest things from people, don't you?"

"Only if it's interesting, really. I have a need to spice up my life!" Masaomi said while winking at Mikado and placing his hand on his chest proudly.

Anri had just been confused the whole time since they seemed to ignore her. "Um…." So she tried catching their attention.

"Oh, right, right! I'm Masaomi, that's Mikado! Oh, wow! You have no idea how happy you've made us! Like super happy! So, beautiful ero-chan, what's your name?" Masaomi had asked with another wink while pointing to Anri with both index fingers of his hands.

"You're being rude, Masaomi." Mikado responded by slapping his friend on the back of his head.

"Mikado's so mean!" Masaomi pouted again and Anri finally spoke up.

"Sonohara Anri." She said softly but they heard her nonetheless.

"Anri-chan, then!"

"Nice to meet you, Sonohara-san."

"Sonohara-san?" Mikado's voice brought Anri from her memories and she quickly apologized before returning to her half-eaten ice cream. Masaomi got closer and without saying anything, took a bite out of Anri's ice cream, effectively surprising her.

"Thanks for the meal!" He said with an aloof grin.

"Masaomi!" Mikado quickly yelled and saw his best friend skip away happily. "Sorry Sonohara-san. I'll try to stop him next time. That was rude of him."

"No, it's alright. Would you like a bite too?" Anri offered but Mikado shook his hands to signify he wouldn't dare to.

"Shall we take a walk? There's a few things I wanted to show you around the park." Mikado suggested and Anri agreed, getting up from the chair.

"You're going to show her that painter, right? Don't leave without me!" Masaomi quickly put his arm around Mikado's shoulder and they walked around the park.

Anri seemed glad the two were with her but no one paid attention to them so it saddened her a bit. She knew it couldn't be helped though. It was just the way things were with the two.

"Hello there. All alone miss?" The old man with the sketch book asked Anri with a smile.

Glancing at the two behind her, she smiled at the man. "Never again."

Masaomi and Mikado instantly smiled and then proceeded to tell her about which pieces of work to really notice. They were in a few after all.

**End**

* * *

Sissy: What kind of an end is this? OoO Yeah, I dunno. Eh, I dunno, I just thought I could portray Anri at her cutest amongst two crazy teens no one cares about since they were more of a feeling than anything. Celty always notices when something is wrong and cares so much about Anri that she doesn't mind them. But since she can't see them directly, she uses their reflections to notice them. Gah! I know this was supposed to be cuter! I'm so sorry! There were supposed to be more non interactions like in Side A but it didn't come out right. Buu…


	21. The Gods enter dotdotdot Kamiarizuki

**Title:** The Gods enter through the center _Kamiarizuki_**  
By:** Sissy

**Pairings:** szmk + msan + ckao**  
Warnings:** T!chapter. Continuation of drabble 06.

* * *

Masaomi stared directly Mikado, causing a bit of an unnerving feeling on the young lord. Anri simply ignored him while she helped change Mikado's clothes. In the meantime, Aoba continued to try and pry Chikage off from him.

"…"

"Seriously, please stop it now Masaomi." Mikado had to look away from Masaomi in order not to focus so much on his guardian.

"It can't be helped. It's the first time you're going to the summit. Masaomi's just worried about you, Mikado-sama." Chikage explained while hovering on top of Aoba.

"I see. But can you please stop trying to rape my younger brother right in front of me?" With a sigh, Mikado turned his attention to Anri, who had just finished fixing his clothes. "Does it look good?"

While Anri nodded in agreement, Aoba screamed from under Chikage, "Hold on, Mikado-sama! Does that mean you don't mind what this pervert does as long as he doesn't do it in front of you?" Aoba was in shock but quickly punched Chikage to escape.

"I was gonna ask that too but I don't mind continuing this in another room Aobachin!" Chikage grinned and ran after his beloved while rubbing his face.

"You sure you're going to be okay, Mikado-sama? I've heard from pops back when the previous lord was still around that the old guys at the summit can get really hardheaded about things there." Masaomi tilted his head with a frown, showing how worried he was.

"I know." Mikado nodded with a smile in place. "Father used to talk about it too whenever he came back. And I studied up on things with Aoba-kun so I should be okay."

"I hope so. I'm just glad the big boss there allowed Anri-chan to go with you. But try not to disrespect any of the guys there. Your fiancée is going too, right?" Sighing, Masaomi remembered the person in question and shivered slightly.

"Yeah, Shizuo-niisan is going too." Mikado lowered his gaze, trying to hide both his blush and his smile.

"Most lords prefer to travel without guard. They are pompous that way." Anri suddenly spoke and received a fit of laughter from Masaomi but was quickly silenced with the threat of her sword on his neck.

"Anri-chan, please don't kill Masaomi. The late previous lord might haunt us for offing the son of his most trusted guard." Mikado tried to ease the mood and watched Anri retreat her sword. "But Anri-chan's right, Masaomi. There'll probably be only a few guards who will eventually get assigned border patrol by their masters."

"I will remain near Mikado-sama in case of assistance." Anri explained with a nod. "Aoba-sama is not allowed to go after all. Normally, I would not be either though." Anri seemed worried about something but felt Mikado's hand on her head.

Smiling at her, Mikado spoke softly. "Don't worry Anri-chan, I trust your skills. And the Great Lord knows it as well, that is why he allowed your presence there."

"This is gonna be a long month." Masaomi sighed and got ready to leave the room. "But g'luck Mikado-sama and have a little bit of fun too if you can."

"I agree with Masaomi-kun, Mikado-sama." Anri gave her lord the softest smile, causing Masaomi to hug her with appreciation. Mikado simply walked in front of them, taking glances of them every so often while trying to hide his chuckle.

… … …

"I do not need to remind you, Mikado-sama, but I will not be able to directly speak to you during the summit. If there is anything you need, I will try to fulfill it, however, please speak to the retainers." Anri reminded Mikado as they stood in front of the large shrine gate.

"I know, Anri-chan. Well, don't lag behind now." Mikado reminded her with a smile and took the first step through the gate. Beyond that, they arrived at the long steps to the entrance of the shrine. "Oh, there are other lords still arriving." He noted while going up. Glancing back at Anri, he noticed her keeping her gaze on him while remaining quiet, just as she promised to do so.

With a soft sigh, he continued upwards. The view became denser in forest as they elevated since the mountain was around them. Almost at the midway point, Mikado noticed someone in the distance. The furry tails caught his attention first and the smoke reached his nose much quicker. He smiled but kept an even pace until he reached Shizuo.

"Hello Shizuo-niisan. I'm glad I could catch up to you." Mikado smiled brightly to the older lord and curiously glanced around. "Kasuka-niisan isn't with you?"

Taking a puff, Shizuo almost deliberately took his time in answering. "No. He has to remain at my place to keep guard. And stop looking at childish. You've come because you're a noble so act like it." He seemed displeased with something else entirely.

"Has father arrived yet?" Mikado asked, somewhat shyly and saw Shizuo's tails twitch.

"Correct." He answered and remained still, looking out at the view.

Mikado seemed a bit nervous around Shizuo and didn't know what to do but couldn't consult it with Anri since the other had remain out of it. "T-then, I'll be…"

"Let's go." Shizuo finally ordered and started walking upwards. Mikado immediately followed behind, being only two steps behind and to his side. He knew what the appropriate distance was after all.

Once they arrived at the top, the three stepped through the main entrance and were received by a group of retainers. "Please be welcomed to the Great Shirne. I am one of the two head retainers, Walker."

"And I am Erika." The two of the group smiled to the lords.

"All accompanying guards will receive orders from the Head of Security here, Kyohei-sama. Please follow him, Sonohara-dono." Walker immediately pushed Anri away from Mikado without letting the small lord say anything about it.

"And I shall bring you to your quarters, Shizuo-sama, Mikado-sama. The Great Lord has decided to give you adjoining rooms due to your relationship. Any further request for the room or discontent with the room will go through me or Walker. Dinner is a six sharp and breakfast at seven sharp. Meetings will take during the day and you shall be provided with meals during these at your call. A schedule of the meetings is displayed in your rooms and are divided by area. Any further meetings outside those of schedules will be requested through me or Walker. These included private talks or meals with the Great Lord which are denied at request. Any questions you may have so far, my lords?" Erika asked once they reached the rooms. Mikado had barely any time to register even the way to the room.

"I want you to prepare both our meals in my room. Got it?" Shizuo ordered the woman, surprising Mikado. She didn't even bat an eyelash when answering.

"As so ordered."

Once she was gone, Mikado stood alone in his room. He knew Shizuo was in the next and thought about knocking into his to see if he could come in. There seemed to be nothing to do until your turn at the meetings so Mikado was now slightly confused. He decided to look at the schedule in the meantime.

"Me and Shizuo-niisan are on the 18th day… Father's will be the day before… I should greet him at least once, right?" Mikado murmured to himself, feeling slightly worried. His ears stood up and his tails froze when he hear Shizuo speak.

"Come in here." It was a commanding tone and one befitting of Shizuo. Mikado knew well to obey it, even though they were both equals. "Sit."

Mikado obeyed and sat near Shizuo, glancing awkwardly every so often.

"Your plans for the rest of the summit, tell me what they are." Shizuo ordered without asking and Mikado nodded.

"I was thinking of taking walks and greeting the other lords during the banquets. I also have to greet father…" He stopped once he saw Shizuo's hardened gaze.

"Did you know about that? The proposal?" This one was an actual question, which Mikado found odd. But since Shizuo seemed angry, he figured there was something putting him off. "Well?"

"I… I heard about it from Anri-chan after the incident back then. It was a test designed by father…" Mikado's ears fell and his tails curled around him as he fell silent. A few seconds later, he gathered up his courage, "Father spoke to you?"

"That he did." Shizuo responded and took a puff of his pipe. He seemed a bit calmer now for some reason and Mikado thought it wise not to say anything else. Almost an hour later, Shizuo stood up and looked down at Mikado. "Let's go. I'll introduce you to some of the lords."

"O-oh! Thank you Shizuo-niisan!" Mikado smiled and followed closely behind, his mood improving with Shizuo's own.

As the two toured the shrine, they met various others whom Shizuo introduced calmly to Mikado. Each of them had a different response that got a bit repetitive to the two. Whenever they learned who Mikado was they'd either show surprise, disgust, joy, confusion or a friendliness that hid their true emotions. Mikado maintained a cheerful attitude in front of them and was amazed Shizuo had not said anything about it.

"Your father informed me earlier so I'll give you a fair warning, he'll be speaking to the Great Lord during the summit about our partnership. The Great Lord will make the final decision." Shizuo spoke once they reached one of the many gazebos of the various lakes inside the shrine.

Mikado was caught by surprise and looked back to Shizuo, frowning a bit. "Oh… I see…" He was clearly depressed by the news and felt surprised when one of Shizuo's tails touched his cheek.

"I will try to talk to the Great Lord myself during that meeting. Are you planning on speaking up for yourself as well?" He asked and saw Mikado softly purr at the tails. It didn't seem as though Mikado had listen at all. Growling a bit, Shizuo took his tail away. "I have some lords to meet up with. Make sure you behave properly and I'll see you during the evening."

"Ah, alright…" Mikado looked a bit down now but there was nothing else he could do.

"Oh, dear. That's a pretty big frown you've got there." The voice startled him and he noticed the man on the railing. He carried a large bottle of wine and a small cup in his hands. "I can lend you my ear if you so desire. As it so happens, I'm in a pretty good mood. I can also offer you some of my wine."

"O-oh! No, I don't need any right now. And, um, I don't mean to be rude but I don't think you would be able to help anyways. Thank you though." Mikado gave him a small bow and ran off into the distance.

"That's no way to treat a partner, Mikado-kun." The man grinned and changed his appearance before disappearing from view.

While Mikado continued his way around the shrine, alone this time, he noticed some of the many retainers look a bit flustered and worried. He thought it was curious but ignored it. Eventually, Mikado found a garden and was pulled down by someone. With various blinks, he came face-to-face with a young girl whom he immediately recognized as an outsider of the summit.

"Please forgive me for being so bold but I must find the one they call Lord Mikado!" She said looking slightly scared. Her face was pale and Mikado's tails passed by her cheek, slowly easing her. "S-sorry… Thank you."

"A girl should always be smiling. Now, would you like to state the reason why you are here, aside from searching for one of us?" Mikado asked her, without doing any introductions or being too harsh on her.

"Ah, eh, well, it's this, I mean like this… Um… My sister, that is, older sister-in-law, she, uh, created… Um, have you ever heard of the man-made tengu?" She suddenly asked after much thinking and Mikado used his tails to raise her gaze to his.

"What does that guy have to do with your reason for being here?" Mikado's icy glare froze her and she lowered her gaze away.

"Sister created him. They were friends as I understand it, but… I can't permit him to continue to do as he pleases! It's not right for him to try and attain such a high title by stealing from others, much less a partnership!" She seemed scared but Mikado simply smiled and pet her head.

The girl seemed curious but Mikado looked around. "Oh, Walker-san, come here." He motioned to the retainer passing by with a grin and saw him step closer.

"What can I do for you…? Oh, dear." He froze upon seeing the young girl. Looking from one to the other, he wasn't sure what to say.

"Please give her safe passage outside. But before that, your name please." Mikado asked calmly and the girl froze. She looked from Mikado to Walker and then to Mikado once more.

Without hoping to insult him, she spoke. "Mi… Mikajima… Saki…"

"Then Mikajima Saki, I give you my blessings in exchange for your message." Mikado gave her a small kiss on her forehead and the girl felt flustered, not knowing what to do. "Now Walker-san, make sure no one notices her leave."

"As so ordered, Mikado-sama." Walker bowed, his words surprising the girl before she was grabbed hold of and disappeared from their sights.

Once they were both gone, Mikado sighed and stood up. "Should I tell Shizuo-niisan about this? If that man is here, there might be trouble. Oh right, I'll give Anri-chan a heads up."

With that the days passed calmly and Mikado's scheduled meeting was finally up. Anri never seemed to be around so he rarely saw her and Shizuo would always be around during breakfast and dinner, making Mikado wonder where he spent his days when not around the younger lord. But none of that mattered right at the moment since he was smack deep in the middle of around fifty conversations.

"Hey, hey, do you think we can finish this whole meeting any time soon? I'm dying to go outside. I can't believe no one's arrived at a mutual conclusion." One lord spoke amicably, reeking of alcohol. "You're Mikado-dono, right? I heard about you from Shizuo. It'd be great if your partnership doesn't get broken off. Personally, I like you with Shizuo more than with that weirdo tengu. You know he visited me once. Wouldn't shut up about you. Celty-kun had to throw him out by force. It was hilarious."

"Shinra-dono, shut up. We're in the meeting already." Shizuo growled at the man, who simply laughed and wagged his fluffy raccoon tail.

"See that, Mikado-dono? He's actually very possessive and jealous of others. Wanna know what he's been up to lately?" Shinra leaned in too close and fell but was caught by the older lord next to him.

"I think you've had a bit too much to drink, my lord." He seemed dignified but his harsh exterior somehow scared Mikado.

"Oh no, Shiki-dono, I'm perfectly fine!" Shinra spoke in his defense but his words were starting to slur.

"Seventeen and that's final!" Another voice came from down the long hall and Mikado tried to look who was talking. "Fine! We'll divide it by month!"

"You have to stand your ground in this. Make sure you remember that." Shizuo advised Mikado, who nodded and tried to follow the conversations. Though he wasn't in charge of any town, it was still important for him to know what was happening.

Once the meeting was over, Mikado saw Erika waiting outside the hall with a smile. She caught sight of him and bowed politely before walking over to him. "Your father wishes to dine with you. I have passed this message to you."

"Thank you." Mikado smiled and glanced over to Shizuo shyly.

"I've already spoken to him. You should greet him at least once. Half the month has already passed." Shizuo nodded in approval and Mikado gave him a bright smile, leaving with Erika who led the way. "That insolent one is here as well, isn't he?" Glancing behind him, he saw Anri nod in confirmation but Shizuo maintained his anger. There was no need to make a scene just yet.

The hallway Mikado was in was different that the one his room was in. Even the distance of each room was larger. He found it only slightly odd.

"We've arrived. Good day, Mikado-sama." Erika bowed and left the hallway. Mikado took a second to gather up his courage and opened the door.

"You're late Mikado-kun!" Mikado froze upon seeing that man in the room. But his father stern gaze caused him to try and smile in return.

"Good evening, father." Mikado sat down and gave his father a small bow.

"You've finished your meeting, correct? What is your impression?" Mikado's father asked, calmly drinking some of the wine near him.

"It was alright. There was a lot going on but we managed to finish discussing all the topics, partly in thanks to Shizuo-niisan and Shiki-dono." Mikado explained and saw the tengu take a swing of his bottle of wine without much care.

"Very well. There will be more in the future but I expect your participation to rise. You mustn't be complacent with just a small shrine, Mikado. Eventually you'll have a town to guard as well." His father's voice was commanding and Mikado could feel some sweat falling. "Now, I trust you've met Izaya-dono, correct?"

"Oh my, Ryugamine-sama, I feel just bashful being called so respectfully by someone of your caliber!" The man-made tengu, Izaya, grinned aloofly and smirked towards Mikado. "You heard about the meeting, right Mikado-kun?"

"I have, father." Mikado responded only to his father and not to Izaya. "I shall leave the matter to the Great Lord's decision."

There was a moment of silence and even Izaya thought it odd but only kept glancing between father and son. Suddenly, the older lord raised his hand and the room door opened to reveal Erika and Walker carrying their dinner. The two hurriedly came in, placed the food and left without saying a word. The tension seemed very high.

"Well, I should say, let's dig in!" Izaya proclaimed and took a bite of his food, seeing how Mikado and his father followed slowly.

After a few moments of silence, Mikado finally spoke. "Is there any reason you can allow me to hear for this change in partnership?"

"I simply know this situation to be more beneficial to you. Izaya-dono as your partner will allow you to grow into a more suitable lord than a partnership with Shizuo-dono." He explained and the conversation ended there. Even Izaya's half-baked attempts at sparking their interests with topic about his travels didn't give him any fruit.

Once the evening meal was finished, Mikado was sent back and didn't even get a chance to say good night to Shizuo since the other wasn't in his room. Morning arrived with the usual festivities of the other lords as background noise and Mikado ate his breakfast alone. He thought it odd but Shizuo was nowhere around. Without anything to do, once again, he walked around the Great Shrine. A few lords greeted him in passing like usual but by now, they were too drunk. Many of the other lords used the summit for meeting up with old friends who lived far away.

Mikado sighed as he walked towards one of the smaller gondolas. He thought it would be vacant until he saw a lord there, drinking wine peacefully. Instantly, Mikado felt flustered for interrupting.

"Oh, hello. Care to join me? I'd really enjoy some company right about now. It's so nosy inside, don't you think so?" He asked with a pleasant smile and Mikado nodded, sitting down beside him. "You look slightly under the weather. Odd, most lords at the summit are either too serious or too drunk. Something happen recently?"

"Well…" Mikado was about to talk but thought it would be rather awkward to talk about the matter to someone who couldn't do anything about it.

"Don't pause on my account. Just get it out of your chest young lord." He smiled and Mikado felt flustered again.

"Father is going to speak to the Great Lord about my partnership with Shizuo-niisan but I… I don't want to separate from him. There's a promise I want to keep with Shizuo-niisan." Mikado voiced out his feelings with a frown on his face. The lord beside his looked curiously at him.

"Why not say that to your father then?" He asked but Mikado shook his head.

"He will not listen to me. What he wishes of me is to become like him. But I know I can't." Sighing once again, he felt the lord's hand on his head.

"Don't you feel better getting it out of your throat?" The lord asked happily and offered some cake to Mikado. "Can I know what kind of promise it was? Or is it too personal?"

Mikado blushed and accepted the cake. "Simply that I would stay on his side as I grew prouder of myself. It's silly, but it means everything to me." He explained sadly and felt the lord caressing his ear, causing him to become nervous now.

"You should speak up for yourself then. Something good might happen." He suggested and continued his meal quietly, while Mikado stayed still for the time being. "Now then, I seem to hear something going on inside. It should be time to head back in, don't you think so too?"

Mikado nodded nervously and followed the older lord but eventually lost sight of him. With a soft sigh, he continued his walk and met with Anri. Smiling, he asked her to join him and she nodded in return.

"Oh, Mikado-dono, come here!" He heard Shinra from two floors up and jumped to reach him, along with Anri. "See what I mean? That's what we didn't get to finish talking about." Shinra pointed to Shizuo, who was a bit far down in the current gathering.

"Why is Shizuo-niisan talking with those other lords? He doesn't seem too pleased with it." Mikado was confused and worried at the same time.

"He's trying to gain some support in your partnership. If the Great Lord hears that there are other lords who find beneficial your partnership, he might be persuaded to maintain it. Kinda sneaky isn't it? I told him about that plan. That way, Shizuo will support my partnership." Shinra seemed pleased with himself and looked as though he remembered something. "Speaking of which, I have a meeting soon about that. Shizuo! See ya later!"

As Shinra left the gathering, Mikado made sure he wasn't seen by Shizuo. Anri noted his blush and softly bumped her head with his. Mikado seemed pleased with that and both returned to their walk. However, that ended when the famous Head of Security, Kyohei, came and picked up Anri. He bowed formally to Mikado and looked very serious about his work. Anri seemed to admire him, Mikado noted, even though his guard was silent the whole time.

Eight days later, Shizuo barged into Mikado's room with a serious gaze. The young lord was taken by surprise and seemed to be thinking of what he should do. "We're going." Shizuo only said and turned to leave. Mikado quickly followed behind without a single word.

"Oh, I was just coming to get you, my lords." Erika appeared in front of them with a smile. "The meeting's location has been changed. Please, follow me." She motioned to them and guided them towards a much larger hall that Mikado had not seen even once.

"This is the Grand Hall. It's supposed to be used on the last day of the summit. Something must've changed." Shizuo explained to Mikado in whispers and eyed the hall, noticing the various guards that had been placed there.

As the two neared the center, they saw Izaya and Mikado's father. There was a structure of curtains in front of them to hide the Great Lord's face, much like the meeting hall Mikado had been in before. What was truly different in this hall were the complexity of levels and balconies surrounding them. Mikado saw Shinra from one balcony, still drunk and waving at him while Shiki tried to stop him from falling.

A loud cough resounded and Walker caught everyone's attention. Mikado and Shizuo sat side-by-side behind Mikado's father, while Izaya sat just a few feet to Mikado's right. "We shall begin the meeting of the decision to maintain the partnership between Lord Shizuo and Lord Mikado. Lord Ryugamine, please state your ideals to the Great Lord." Walker spoke while Erika stood close by.

"As stated in my previous letter, Great Lord, this partnership was an agreement between myself and Shizuo-dono's father. However, my late friend indicated that his son was free to choose whether the partnership was mutually beneficial. And in my house, the master of the family decides the fate of their children, therefore my decision of their partnership no longer beneficial is the first reason why I wish to change my son's partnership. The second is that Izaya-dono is more suitable to grow my son." Mikado's father explained in detail his thoughts and the two head retainers nodded in response.

"Then one word will be allowed of each of the individual lords. Lord Shizuo, begin." Erika spoke to Shizuo, who nodded. He first wrapped his tails around Mikado as best he could and spoke exactly one word.

"Mine."

"Lord Mikado." Erika spoke to Mikado, who blushed before curling his tails with Shizuo's own and saying exactly one word as well.

"Agreed!"

Shizuo smiled at Mikado's honesty and heard Erika speak once more. "Lastly, Master Izaya."

All eyes fell on Izaya who simply smirked before eyeing Mikado. "Rejected." Was his word before Shizuo brought Mikado closer to him and Anri jumped in between them to repel the blast.

The hall fell silent but not one lord moved to do anything. Izaya simply tried to separate his prize from Shizuo and felt something pierce his side. Kyohei walked into the scene, a sword in hand. "Master Izaya, you've been charged with crimes against every lord in this Grand Hall. You will have stolen the last mana today." He spoke seriously and charged forward, along with Anri and about six other guards.

"Go, Kadota-kun!" Shinra cheered from the sideline, laughing joyfully. A few other lords seemed to enjoy the spectacle below but others seemed disinterested in the whole ordeal, like the female lord a few floors above Shinra who was far more interested in the small jail she carried.

"Wha… What's going on?" Mikado was very confused, much like his father, as Shizuo brought him away from the fight, looking about ready to join in the fray.

"Looks like this was what Shinra-dono planned from the beginning. Only he would know how much mana was taken from us." Shizuo eyed Shinra, who seemed much too happy, even if he was drunk.

Almost ten minutes later, Kyohei pinned Izaya to the floor, along with the other guards. "You'll be awaiting sentence here in the Great Shrine until further notice." He spoke calmly and had the guards take him away.

"Nice going, Kadota-kun!" Shinra cheered again and Kyohei sighed tiredly before leaving with the other guards.

Walker coughed loudly again and caught the attention of those in the hall. "The Great Lord would like to announce his decision. That is, it was always his intention of maintaining the partnership, more so now that Lord Mikado was able to voice out his wish."

"He would also like to mention that he is glad you were able to keep your promise, Mikado-sama." Erika said brightly and Mikado was caught by surprise. He quickly hid his face, embarrassed of his own display of affection.

"Then, since all meetings were able to be completed this year without any delays, the remaining days will be the festivities for the future partnerships to be completely celebrated!" Walker exclaimed joyfully and both he and Erika took out two fans and waved them around.

The hall trembled from the cheering as many entertainments were brought out for the lords. Walker fetched Mikado and Shizuo to bring them closer to the Great Lord.

"Isn't it nice that you were able to speak up?" The Great Lord spoke amicably as he sipped some of his wine. Mikado felt flustered again since he realized that the other had been just gathering information that time. Shizuo glanced at the two, realizing what happened and shook his head.

Still, he had to give his thanks. Mikado quickly did the same, not wanting Shizuo to be the only one and the two left for the festivities around them. They had to pay a few other lords a visit to thank them. However, Shizuo made sure Mikado did not leave his sight, even for a moment or to speak to his father.

… … …

"Are you fucking serious?" Masaomi was the first to ask the moment Mikado finished retelling the story of the events at the summit. He sat next to Anri on the heated table while Chikage and Aoba sat to their right. Kasuka was in front of them while Shizuo and Mikado was to their left.

"Don't swear." Shizuo and Aoba spoke at the same time, making Chikage stifle a chuckle.

"Aw man! Now I wish I'd gone to the summit!" Masaomi pouted and looked over to the neutral Anri. "Even Anri-chan looks positively happy! She's glowing and everything! That Kadota must've put the moves on her! I know he's the best, but still!"

"Oh, right. I forgot you also took one of his seminars." Chikage laughed as he stole a fruit from the bowl in front of them. "Which reminds me, that little girl who found her way in…"

"You told her how to find me, didn't you Chikage-san?" Mikado asked and Chikage simply laughed before receiving a blow to his side from Aoba. He coughed before adding, "I just felt sorry for her since she seemed to forget what time of the year it was."

"Still, I don't think her message would've helped much." Mikado said with a sigh.

"However, it still is of some import. I'll look into this famous sister-in-law." Kasuka added but Chikage butted in.

"No, no good sir. If anyone's going around looking for info, I'll be the one doing it. You were still in the middle of lessons with Aobachin, remember?" He grinned to the two and saw Aoba turn his gaze away.

"And you say you like staying here?" Shizuo asked softly to Mikado, who was startled but nodded nonetheless.

"This is my family. I love them as they are." Mikado responded while entwining his tails with Shizuo's, the other not minding it at all. It wasn't his plan to visit Mikado until the partnership was to be celebrated but since it had been threatened, he wanted to make sure nothing got in the way again. Kasuka had noticed his brother's feelings and seemed happy anyways. He didn't mind. This big a close family was welcomed to him.

**End**

* * *

Sissy: Dear god! This ended a bit longer than the first. Anyways, originally Saki was going to be Mika and they I thought 'that doesn't suit Mika, let's change this!'. For those who didn't get the subplot this time around, it's based on kannazuki which is 'the month without gods' unless you're in Izumo and then it's kamiarizuki which is 'the month with gods'. Look for it on wiki and you'll know who the Great Lord is and what's the Great Shrine. I hope people were able to locate Niekawa-chan (who for some reason is one of my favorite characters (point crazy)) who I imagine to be some sort of yukihime. And finally, the partnership meant engagement. Speaking of which, I wanted Celty to attend but it isn't her religion so she most likely thought it would be insulting to appear there. (And to think this all started because I kept hearing in my head the constant 'jiii' of Masaomi's at the beginning.)


	22. In Your Eyes

**Title:** In Your Eyes**  
By:** Sissy

**Pairings:** szmk + mssk + mkan? + srcr**  
Warnings:** T!chapter. Various kinds of angst. And randomness.

* * *

At the moment the clock struck twelve midnight, Izaya was awoken by a loud yet muffled cry. He ran downstairs to see, in genuine shock, Celty's head in tears. His shock turned into curiosity within seconds and he grinned. Wondering what could've caused such a drastic response from the head, he brought it out from the tube it was contained in. The cry, now uncovered, would surely wake the whole neighborhood. As he paced the room, Izaya decided to place it back in its container. There was no need to cause his neighbors, much less the police, to come knocking at such an hour.

As Izaya wondered, for nearly half an hour, whether to go back to sleep or not, a crash brought him back to his senses. Looking behind him, he saw Celty's silhouette in a different outfit than normal. Of course, what he saw as normal wasn't really for Celty. Now back to her pre-Japan outfit, she seemed much more intimidating. Especially since even her horse had followed her all the way into Izaya's apartment.

"Well, this isn't good. But what brings you here?" Izaya tried to remain calm as small droplets of sweat began to form on his skin. However, Celty never answered him and without making another sound, slashed him unconscious with her scythe. Izaya never had a chance to avoid it like he usually did with Shizuo's attacks.

…

In Shinra's case, he was woken up by the loud roar of Celty's horse. The man didn't even get a chance to find out what had happened until it was too late. However, if anyone were to ask how he even heard the horse in its original form, he'd reply with as much gusto as normal. "If it's part of Celty then of course I'm going to hear it. Do you have something stuck in your ears?"

Yet, even he had to admit that the whole thing was odd. Even he felt intimidated by the air left in his apartment. It was cold and lonesome, as if it were the prelude to what was to come.

Shinra was called almost three hours later by Izaya to ask for Celty's whereabouts and the underground doctor knew that this was something even an informant of Izaya's caliber did not know. It was at that moment he knew something had happened. Even if Izaya didn't seem all that bent out of shape at being struck unconscious by Celty, Shinra could tell something had happened; both to his childhood friend and, most importantly, to his lover.

…

If anyone in Ikebukuro heard the news first, it was Namie. Standing at the top of her apartment building, she cried out. "Seiji… Seiji…! Seiji! Seiji! Seiji! SEIJI!" And with that, Namie plummeted to the ground, becoming the last to hitch a ride in Celty's carriage.

… … …

The whole day Masaomi was quiet, Saki noted; though she was aware of the reason why. Just around the corner, very near from where they were staying, his best friend was staying in a different hotel. And it wasn't just him. The whole grade had gone on an excursion, specifically the very same town they were in. If not for the fact that Masaomi had seen them early in the morning, from afar, he might've accidentally stumbled upon his best friend in the crowds. And for that reason, Masaomi had forced himself to stay cooped up in his room. At the very least, until they all left. And he knew the trip wouldn't last that long for them.

"I have to go out and get us something to eat." Saki finally spoke that late afternoon when the school trip was scheduled to return. She had been hungry for some time now and figured Masaomi would be too. It wasn't that she didn't mind dying next to Masaomi due to starvation, but she simply didn't want to see him die of starvation.

"Don't let him see you. I know he doesn't know your face but…" Masaomi spoke weakly, causing Saki to realize he was much weaker than she imagined. Like always, Saki first smiled to Masaomi and then she nodded.

The trip to the nearby convenience store wasn't long but in her weakened state it took long enough for Saki to reach the store. Right next to it, one of the buses was stopped. It wasn't that she hoped that bus wasn't the one, but a sixth sense she developed told her it was. As calm as always, she entered the store. Almost a dozen students were shopping and there, recognizing them for a picture Masaomi had, she saw both teens.

"Seiji-san and I had the same tastes!" The couple next to the two were in their own little world as they picked food for the overnight trip. It was a long way for the students but since they didn't have class the next day, most were planning on not getting any sleep.

"Okay people, you're the last group and we're leaving now so whatever you didn't get, then you didn't get!" A teacher spoke up from the entrance and Saki saw the students hurry in direction of the cash registers. As they ran past her, Saki gave them both a soft smile. They had been caught off guard but since they were being called, neither paid much attention to Saki.

Once she had the food in hand and it was paid for, Saki began her trek to the hotel. Saki wasn't planning on saying anything to Masaomi about who she saw since it would needlessly worry Masaomi. Of course, fate had whole other message for her to relay the moment she fainted from the shock. The doctors later on had told Masaomi it had been partly caused by the anemia due to her being hungry. He couldn't pay much attention though.

And in the span of the following hour, three phone calls had been made.

… … …

Aside from Namie, the second to be contacted was Kyohei. It had been during the middle of one of his commission works. He didn't know the number yet still answered anyways. "Talk to me." He spoke out of his usual tone of voice, simply because he was tired and busy. Erika and the others would be arriving soon with his meal in any case.

Out of shock, he nearly dropped the phone when the other spoke. There was a silent question for his absence over the phone and Kyohei quickly brought the piece back in place. "What does that mean?"

A small yet detailed explanation had been given and without giving much explanation to his contractor, Kyohei left the vicinity of his work. Erika and the others were pulled back into Saburou's car in order to see the news. They made a dash towards the caller immediately.

…

It wasn't the third call but he had expected one since the afternoon. The fact that he hadn't meant that something was wrong. Sure, he thought the caller was busy having fun and he didn't mind that but it was the fact that no call had been made that bothered him. He was worried. Very worried in fact.

So it was obvious that he didn't know anything. Not about Celty. Not about the call. And certainly not about the truth.

"Shizuo-san…" He might've been the last to be seen, but Shizuo was the most important one to him.

…

"Sempai comes back next morning. I'm so bored." Aoba whined to his followers and colleagues who laughed at him in response. "Ah, I know! You guys, fight amongst yourselves like some sort of gladiators!" A unison of sighs were heard and Aoba pouted.

"You shouldn't bother the others so much, Aoba-kun." He heard the chuckle and Aoba turned around with a grin on his face.

"Sempai!" Aoba tried to tackle the other but fell to the ground since his sempai avoided him.

"Sorry Aoba-kun, I just came here to let you know my real thoughts." His smile was bright like always but it felt like there was something wrong. Aoba realized it first, though he was the second to be seen. He was that important and that observant.

"What real thoughts?" Aoba was confused as he tilted his head to look cutesy. The rest of his gang hid their smirks at that. Watching Aoba go gaga for his sempai was always entertaining.

"I was hoping, all this time, to reform you. Not to make you like me, but change you in a way that you'd be able to like others." The explanation seemed awkward and weird, so much that no one could make sense of it. But one thing was certain. _This person has given up. But what?_ "Well, another time I guess. If I get a second chance."

"What does that mean?" Aoba tried to get closer, but he couldn't move. None of them could.

With a smile, he turned around. "I have to go see him now." Aoba would only learn the truth later on during the night.

…

"Izaya-san, you're there right?" This happened right before the last call, yet Izaya was the first to be visited. At the moment, Izaya was going over some documents since Namie had taken the weekend off due to her small depression. Izaya didn't mind since he could keep himself entertained.

"Now this is odd. Don't you get back like much later? That's why your return trip is overnight and you don't have class tomorrow." Izaya chuckled as he got up to greet the guest behind the door.

"I hate you Izaya-san. Always have and always will. Honestly, I hope I don't ever get to see someone like you again. And…" The voice turned into a murmur and Izaya had to stop himself from saying anything at the moment. He hadn't realized what he felt but he recognized that feeling like when he had lucid dreams of the future. "Anyways, I hate you. I know you won't ever change your ways."

"Is this all you want to say?" Izaya managed to ask, not being able to show his grin to the other.

"I do wish for a favor though. Even if you won't fulfill it." The next words surprised Izaya. "Don't bother Shizuo-san about this from now on." With those words, Izaya ran to the door and found no one there. He actually stopped to wonder if he had been dreaming. A call brought him to his senses.

"Yes, who is this?" He asked like normal and was so shocked at the later conversation, he dropped the phone on the ground. Yet he only realized it after Aoba and enjoyed it anyway.

… … …

The blaze was strong. There were screams in the air that jerked her awake. She was in between the here and there that even she knew something had gone wrong. Was still wrong. And would remain wrong.

At first she noticed the two holding hands. They were in love, both alive and now dead. Even now she never understood it. Would never understand it. But then fear gripped her. She remembered something. Something that was much more important than her fear, her pain, her life. _Where? Where is he?_ Her thoughts wondered, unable to speak anymore.

After all, he had been walking in with the rest. There was something he had forgotten and was discussing it with the teacher. But it seemed as though the teacher was against it. Walking back to his seat, next to her, with a defeated look was the last thing she saw before it happened. So she tried to find him but she could no longer move.

The noises inside her became louder, almost engulfing her. However, only one thing kept them at bay. Her worry for him. As misplaced as it was, it would be the only thing that kept her alive. In its own very weird way.

…

The sirens were a wakeup call to him. His heart began to race for some reason and he immediately followed them to the fire. He was shocked by it even though he knew nothing at all. There was something in the back of his mind that screamed out for those inside.

"Get her to the hospital!" A voice caught his attention and he saw her first.

"Saki!" Masaomi ran to the girl but the paramedics were faster and they took her away. Unable to move, he heard a soft voice.

Firefighters pushed him aside as they tried to control the blaze. Masaomi could only stare in shock as smoke rose to the sky. He knew now, for some reason, he had just lost something very dear to him.

"What the hell?" The voices brought him back and he saw in the distance something odd between the damage. He was in shock as he realized what it was. Taking one step after another, Masaomi broke into a dash towards the firefighters. Officers tried to stop him but he avoided them all.

"Don't touch that!" Masaomi screamed, not out of worry, but out of a feeling of possessiveness. It was the last link to the two of them. To what mattered to him. To what he always wanted to protect. And he could hear her. The whisper of a voice that remained there.

It would take Masaomi a whole month before he could respond normally again. And even then, there were times when he would revert back to the state at that moment.

If it could be compared to anything, it'd be a doll. Not a puppet that could be controlled, but a doll that was simply there staring at you. Saki was the first to realize this.

…

Kyohei and his gang arrived, even with Saburou's speed, only after everything was over. They saw the scene in shock and were directed to the nearby hospital where Saki was being taken care of. The bill would later be taken care by them but their confusion at what awaited them there was obvious.

"I'm sorry you had to come all the way out here, Kadota-san." Saki looked apologetic due to everything, even though it wasn't her fault. By her side, next to the window, was Masaomi. He was silent as he stared out, in direction of what had happened.

"Did anyone say how it happened?" Kyohei was the first to ask while Erika and Walker tried to see if Masaomi would answer them. He and Saburou sat down on a pair of stools next to her bed.

"It seems like it was just someone with mental problems who didn't like student excursions. At least, that what the detectives told me." Saki explained to them with a worried smile. Every so often, she would glance towards Masaomi, knowing he would not answer her. "Izaya-san was contacted about an hour or so ago. I had to give them a guardian's number."

"Who cares about that? You weren't hurt, right?" Kyohei asked worriedly, glancing at Masaomi as well.

"I wasn't in the bus but the shock apparently caused me to faint. They're giving me some nutrients in the meantime." Saki explained with a soft smile. "I'm not sure what I can do for Masaomi now. But I just want to stay with him."

"Are you coming back to Ikebukuro?" Kyohei asked curiously but mainly because he was worried about her. Saki's face, however, showed that she wasn't sure of that.

"You can stay with us if you want! Me and Yumacchi have some extra space in our loft!" Erika offered with a smile, moving away from the silent Masaomi. "How about it?"

"But I…" Saki looked down and then glanced at Masaomi, who took a few steps towards her and bent down to rest his head on her bed. Smiling towards him, she felt his hand caressing her's as he looked up. For a single moment, Saki noticed something that would remain in the back of her mind as her own secret. She was the first to notice again. "Alright. As long as I can stay with Masaomi."

… … …

"There's a sense of liberation. I don't know. It feels weird." He explained with a smile on his face. There seemed to be no worries for him, despite the fact that he was currently held by a crying Shizuo. "I noticed Yagiri-kun and Harima-san die. I wasn't able to verify if Sonohara-san died too. But it seems like Yagiri Namie-san killed herself just a while ago."

"Who cares about them?" Shizuo screamed, unable to hold his grief. His grip was tight yet the boy didn't pay much attention to it. "Who cares about the others?" The ex-bartender had noticed it instantly, despite not being the first to see the boy. He was behind on the news but he knew. And his anger was rising at the same rate as his grief.

"Don't say that Shizuo-san. Sonohara-san was my friend. She's still dear to me anyhow." He scolded the larger man without hesitation or fear. It was for that reason Shizuo loved him. But now…

"I don't care! You're more important to me!" Shizuo declared the words he had so often told before. They were as true then as they were now. "How did this happen?"

"You can't do anything to the perpetrator, Shizuo-san. It's not like I know him but I don't want anything to happen to you or for you to be responsible for anything bad." The boy seemed angry as he tried to calm Shizuo's rage. He tilted his head backwards and looked up at the blond. "Shizuo-san, I want to ask you a question."

Though the tears fell from his face, Shizuo looked seriously at the younger male. "What is it?" He seemed a bit calmer, though his insides screamed.

"Will you be like this for the rest of your life? Sad like this?" It wasn't that he would enjoy it. Not to say that he couldn't feel the love if it were so. But to the younger male, this meant that the person he loved would never be happy again. From the beginning, he knew the answer to his question, even without Shizuo answering. "Even if it's fake, I want Shizuo-san to be happy. Will you forget about me?"

"Hell no!" Shizuo was angry again as he brought his lips against the younger male. He felt nothing and that made him angrier. Yet tears were the first to fall again. "I won't ever forget."

"I always knew that. That's what I feared." He looked down with a saddened smile. "That's why, I'm asking a very big favor from you Celty-san." Both glanced upwards and backwards to the figure who had appeared behind them. She rode silently on a horse-drawn carriage with a pair of lovers in the back.

Shizuo had been surprised by her appearance. He had never seen her like that, nor had he ever heard her voice in that fashion. "As you wish, Mikado-kun." She swooped down her scythe, hitting both males; one who was in shock and the other very calm.

… … …

"Mikado's dead…right?" Those were Masaomi's first words the following month. After moving in with Erika and Walker, he spent his days gazing out the windows. Shinra had inspected him and Izaya stopped by at one point but no one had anything to say about his condition. Saki continued to stay by his side the whole time.

So she was the first to touch him, giving him her most comforting smile. "That's right. I'm so sorry, Masaomi." There were probably many things they would need to talk about now but Saki wasn't sure where to begin. She was only slightly worried about Masaomi due to that secret she held.

"Anri-chan isn't dead though." Those words caught Saki off guard. As she thought of what he meant, Erika walked in with an angry gaze.

"They found her body in the debris! Anri-chan's dead!" Things that happened in real life had a certain tone which one must face them in, so Erika took this very serious. Even though she secretly wished that nothing had happened and that this was simply something like a dream, she knew this was the hard truth.

"I know you'll enjoy this, Karisawa-san." Masaomi began with a soft smile. "You see, when Anri-chan was dying, it seems her will began a battle with Saika. Their fight had me out of touch with the world so now that Anri won supremacy, I was able to resurface. Actually, Saika's still around, she's just like some broken record in the background."

"Then Anri-chan's now Saika?" Erika instantly light up with happiness and ran towards the new Mother host of Saika. The woman began to rant on about powers and resurrection before Masaomi stopped her with a grin.

"I can take your questions later!" Immediately he turned serious. "How has Shizuo-san been handling this? Anri-chan's been worried about that."

Both girls turned worried, unsure of how to explain the situation. However, Saki took the first turn and slowly spoke of everything in the past month.

…

"You see, I'm also dying." Celty confessed to Shinra through her newly recovered head. She was saddened by this fact, especially since it would cause her lover to live alone from a certain point onwards. "It wasn't just that Saika caught me off guard. I was already weak to begin with from the long years. That's why I've always been complacent with the role I had and where I lived." Inside of her were the memories of many long years.

"Celty…" Shinra looked displeased and heartbroken with the sudden news. He seemed about ready to die with his beloved if necessary.

"But that doesn't mean I will disappear into nothingness. I was allowed a second chance at life later on. Perhaps I'll even get to see them too." Celty explained with a smile. The very same smile she had lost so long ago. "And don't worry. Even if I die, what I've affected won't disappear with me."

"I'm still not sure how I like this Celty." Shinra frowned, recalling what his lover had done to his two best friends. "But I know Shizuo is better off this way. He'd have killed himself like Namie-san did."

"It's what I promised Mikado-kun. For both of them, he never existed from the beginning." Celty hated herself for having done that but she owed that much to him. From the very beginning, she knew how Shizuo would react to this, and like he had predicted, Izaya would've bothered Shizuo with that knowledge. But, from the very start, she had tried to stop it. Her lost self had realized the danger to those who loved her and their companions so she had wanted to stop it from happening. She was too late. There was, possibly, nothing she could've done from the beginning.

"Only one thing worries me." Shinra spoke softly, looking out the window. "Saika never resurfaced anywhere. It doesn't seem like anyone found it. That would mean the children of Saika will run amok, right?" This was before Masaomi returned with Anri, so no one aside from Saki had known of its whereabouts.

"You're right. It's possible. But somehow, I don't think so." Celty was confident about her answer. She knew one thing that Shinra had yet to know. "I picked up their souls. Four, in fact. Anri-chan wasn't among them. And I never felt her anywhere. I'm certain I know where she is."

Catching her train of thought, Shinra was caught by surprise. He had just visited Masaomi the other day. Everything at that point made sense. But he remembered something much more important to him. "Will you still love me even during this second chance? Will I then be reflected in your eyes?"

"I know you will. Just like you finally are now." Celty smiled at him and gazed to her lover, finally able to express all her love for him. The remaining time together would be spent pleasantly and lovingly.

**End**

* * *

Sissy: God knows where I got the idea of killing them all but I just thought it'd be cool if Masaomi had Saika after Anri dies and she'd be able to watch all their second chances. Mikado's partner was a tough one. I never even picked the pairing until Shizuo showed up. I did want him there, just wasn't sure how. And then they ended up together. I feel pity for Aoba though. But he might've eventually moved on. I do feel like making a small second part to this. Maybe.


	23. Partners in Shadows Part 2

**Title:** Partners in Shadows _Part 2_**  
By:** Sissy

**Pairings:** onesided!szmk (but just innocent) + msar (super slightly)**  
Warnings:** AU!chapter. Continuation of drabble 14. Based on the six official pictures that are on the Japanese official anime site. If anyone really needs them, I'll post them on my profile.

* * *

The six of them sat in the family restaurant, causing those around them to take glances at the group. They were an odd group to say the least. But since Fire God had suggested that they head out to eat some lunch, Last Angel called up Black Lady to join them. Rain Protector sat quietly next to Fire, sipping her cold tea, while taking glances of how Noise Receiver kept trying to sit closer to Lightning Strike.

"Here are your orders." The waitress came closer and placed all their food correctly before scampering away from the table.

"Now that the food's here, how about we get down to business?" Last suggested while breaking some bread to eat with his pasta. "This time around we got a lot of jobs lined up!"

"Your jobs are nothing but dangerous, Last." Fire retorted with a glare as he cut the steak in front of him. He ate luxuriously whenever Black paid for the food.

"And that's exactly why I'm around. Me and Celty will help out!" Black said lovingly as he remembered his beauty. The soup in front of him didn't even matter on a scale of heat.

"I'll also try to help place the danger away. Aren't we doing this to help others?" Rain asked curiously and Fire nearly squealed in delight. She had ordered the special of the day since it seemed interesting and was fidgety about it because she had no idea from where to start.

"Just shut it! We're here to eat. This type of discussion should be left for a more private location." Lightning warned them all as he bit down on his cake. Even now, none of the four seemed to understand his obsession with replacing food for sweets.

"I agree." Noise spoke calmly as he brought some of the rice from his traditional meal to his mouth. He seemed to eat with a sort of finesse that the others didn't have.

"There it is. Noise's absolute loyalty to Lightning. Still don't feel anything about it, Lightning?" Fire asked with a sly grin, feeling like teasing the older man. The other, however, simply scoffed and looked away. He really wasn't interested in it.

"Don't tease him so much Fire-kun. Lightning-kun is just shy. Those two eventually will get along." Last said with absolute certainty. That meant to the others that it was a very likely scenario. However, Lightning didn't seem too fond of that fact and Noise felt very awkward about it.

"Ignoring your useless scenarios, I hope everyone has been well. None of you except Last-kun, for obvious reasons, and Fire-kun would speak to me after last time's disbandment." Black seemed to be almost pouting. "Well, I can understand Noise-kun's dilemma but…"

"I apologize, Black-sensei. It was due to work that I could not answer you." Rain apologized and Black felt a pang of guilt in his heart while Fire immediately looked glum. Last saw all their reactions and simply smiled, finding it all hilarious.

"Well, I just didn't feel like it." Lightning responded and Black felt immediately disheartened. He thought Lightning of all people would have mellowed out. It had felt like they came closer as comrades the last time around so this depressed him.

"A-nyways!" Last directed all ears on him. "There's no need for anyone to be separated this time, don't you think so? I know last time left a bit of a bad taste in your mouths but if it makes you feel better, I hadn't even thought that would've been possible."

"What? That you, of all people, didn't realize there was no way for us to get there in time? Did you even see us arrive in time? That's the whole reason I was pissed back then, Last." Fire explained with an angry tone and bit down on his piece of meat, nearly breaking his teeth with the fork.

"Hey! Even a strategy guide isn't omnipotent!" Last pouted and Fire rolled his eyes while Lightning grumbled under his breath.

"And you were also bothered by that event, Last Angel. Don't try to hide that thought." Noise suddenly spoke in Last's defense, surprising the rest on the table. Last immediately smiled and squealed, "Thank you, Mikado-kun! But please stop reading my thoughts!" He poked the younger boy and was quickly slapped away by Lightning.

"Pedo." Both Lightning and Noise responded at the same time.

"Told you they'd get along. See? My instincts aren't useless. I've refined them, Fire-kun." Last said proudly as he placed his hand on his chest for a moment.

"Okay, we get it. Shut up." Fire said with an exhausted sigh.

"Thank you for the food." Both Rain and Noise said at the same time once they finished their food.

"Right, thanks for the food." Fire followed suit and dropped the utensils in his hands.

"Oh, I'm so full." Black seemed pleased and rubbed his belly a bit.

"It was good." Lightning nodded and pushed his plate a bit forward.

"And now that we've eaten, we can leave!" Last got out of the table, ignoring the bit of food he left behind and was followed out by the other five once Black paid at the front.

Now on the streets, Last lead the way while Black walked next to him, humming a song. Fire kept his hands on his pockets while trying to match Rain's slightly slow steps. Lightning and Noise were at the tail of the group, the younger taking glances at Lightning every so often.

"Our first stop is this!" Last proclaimed with a cheerful voice in front of the nearly decrypt store.

"What the hell kind of help are we supposed to give here?" Fire asked with a worried glance at the place.

"It's some really easy stuff. You know, to ease you back into the job." Last grinned and walked inside. Fire, Rain and Lightning tried to cover their noses since there was a really strong smell of medicinal plants.

"Why are you all unaffected by this?" Fire asked with a shocked gaze.

"I haven't been able to smell anything for a while since I was in the hospital." Noise calmly explained.

"Oh, I'm used to these types of smells." Black joked happily.

"I already knew the smell was going to be this bad." Last told them with a happy shrug and walked over to the counter of the store.

"Can I help you?" The old store owner asked them curiously.

"I was here last time talking with your granddaughter. You know, that little one who lost her pup." Last talked with the old man and the rest had this uncanny feeling they would be doing a very low-end job soon.

"Ah! You were the one who was going to help Mimi find Non?" The old man asked joyfully.

"Yes, yes! And these here are my associates." Last pointed to the five behind him.

"Oh, thank you. This is a picture of Non." The old man passed along a photo to Last, who took it happily.

"I'll be communicating with you later, sir. Just leave it to us!" Last waved goodbye to the old man and headed out with the rest.

"Who the hell is Non?" He heard in unison once they were all out.

"This cute Pomeranian that got lost!" Last answered while showing the picture of the dog and quickly avoided Lightning's pipe. "This is serious people! It's important for us to do this job right!"

"I'll agree with Last Angel." Noise suddenly spoke up again, right behind Lightning, who took a step to the side in shock. "I believe it's important to the plan."

"What plan?" Four voices questioned and Noise shrugged his shoulder before moving away.

"Oh, Noise-kun, you shouldn't be alone around here! Lightning-kun, please make sure Noise-kun doesn't get lost or hurt. He's precious to all of us after all." Last asked Lightning with a smile and Lightning clicked his tongue before leaving after Noise.

"Last Angel." Fire called to the older man and stepped forward with an angry look. "What are you planning on using Noise Receiver for?" He seemed about ready to hit Last but knew it would be futile.

"Nothing too serious. Just making sure we don't get sidetracked. And Noise-kun agrees with me. At least up to a certain point anyways. I can't actually force him, you know." Last grinned and headed into another direction, followed by Black in order to make sure the man didn't get himself into any sort of trouble.

"Damn it! The only reason I'm doing this is because Noise wants us together." Fire told Rain but the girl knew better. She smiled sadly and followed his lead after receiving a photo message from Last.

While the group separated into three, they each searched while wondering at the same time; "Wouldn't it be easier if Last Angel just used his guide to find the dog?"

"And ruin the fun?" Last asked Black with a grin and felt a tight grip on his body. He looked back to the literal completely darkened Black Lady in front of Black with something that looked like black lace coming from her hand. It was what held Last in place.

"Sorry, but I won't go against Celty. You mind telling us what it is you're planning? I don't think I can just keep following you blindly." Black explained and saw the black wings come out on Last's back.

"Just fulfilling a promise to Last Angel. Just like you have to Black Lady. Are you going to break it this time?" Last grinned maliciously and felt the lace retreat from his body. "Thank you very much. Now, how about we both enjoy the show? This is after all, necessary but for different reasons."

"How is it different this time?" Black asked after giving the Black Lady a kiss on the hand and watching her become part of his shadow. Last's wings disappeared as well while walking away.

"They haven't seen each other in a while. This'll help take the awkward away." Last revealed with a smile and heard Black sigh.

"So it's just that. You were worried about how they would react when we met up again after last time's event. You're the one who's awkward, Izaya-kun." Black smiled and followed after Last, who simply hid his chuckle.

As the two searched for the other pairs, Noise and Lightning were taking a small break since Noise decided to try and hear things. Lightning knew it was most likely easier to do it that way so he decided to wait. At the very least Noise hadn't decided to go all out.

"Shut up!" Noise suddenly spoke up and surprised Lightning. "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! SHUT UP!"

"Noise Receiver! What's going on?" Lightning was worried. It was much too early for Noise to break down. Then this was something else, he knew that much. But he just didn't know what it was.

"It's so loud… I can't hear it well. Lightning Strike, please… Help me…" Noise pleaded and Lightning brought the boy closer to him, placing his hand on the boy's face. There was a crackle that sounded like static electricity and a black line surrounded Noise's head. Lightning burrowed his eyebrows, feeling terrible about what he was doing.

_Why not make him worry about you? Come on, he's gullible like that._

Noise slapped Lightning's hand away and immediately felt guilty about it. Lightning was caught by surprise but Noise turned away.

"I can hear them. But they're not close. We should call Fire God and Rain Protector. It's this way." Noise spoke calmly and quickly before walking away. Lightning grabbed his phone and followed in pursuit of the boy as he called the other two.

"Okay, got it. We'll head over there right now." Fire hung up and turned to Rain, who had been covering the young girl with her body and a cover of black. As he put his phone away, he finished kicking the man in front of them to the side. "You okay, miss?"

"E-eh? Ah, yes. Th-thank you!" She thanked them both and Rain placed her hand on the girl's head.

"Thank goodness we made it in time." With a smile directed at her, the girl felt nervous in front of the two. Rain seemed to have caught it since she moved away. The cover of black receded into her shadow and she bowed to the girl before nodding to Fire. With a responsive nod, the two headed off, leaving the girl behind. "Where do we need to head to?"

"Somewhere between this district and the next. Lightning didn't seem to know well since Noise just walked away. I think something happened between the two. Noise usually gives a good explanation of what's happening at the moment." Fire seemed worried and tried going faster, looking back every so often to reaffirm that Rain had not been lost. He knew she could keep up, it just worried him she would disappear without saying anything.

Noise dropped down on the floor and saw Lightning stopping next to him. They both seemed tired since Noise had started making a dash for it without uttering a word. His breathing was erratic as he pointed to the building behind him. "This area…is as loud as the hospitals. There are a lot of people in pain. But I found it before it slipped away. Lightning Strike, I don't wish to impose, but that is suffering." Noise explained before drifting off into sleep.

"I'll take care of him, Lightning-kun." Black spoke from the sky as he descended with the literal Black Lady in tow. Last came a second later, his black wings fluttering in the air as they were not connected to his body.

"Call Fire God and Rain Protector. I'll be heading inside." Lightning nodded to Black and ran off into the building, leaving the three behind.

"Noise-kun, are you alright?" Black asked as the darkened woman extended her lace over the boy's neck, easing his breathing and causing the boy to wake.

"I'm sorry, Black Lady. I ran too much for a moment. I was afraid of being engulfed into the noise." Noise apologized and glared at Last. "Last Angel, do not try to play with my feelings like that again. I will not ever, in this life, force Lightning Strike against his will."

"Aw, and here I was hoping the two of you would get closer." Last shrugged his shoulders and turned around with a grin as Fire and Rain found them. "Oh, you should head inside. Looks like they want to threaten Lightning-kun. Make sure Non is alive!"

The two teens glared at the man and ran off into the building, noticing how Noise was being healed again. Both were worried for a moment but knew there was something more important to do. As they headed up the stairs of the building, they heard the gunshots and Rain jumped in front to block them.

"Thanks Rain! But I'm not about to let you lead the whole time!" Fire grinned and placed his hands on the floor, watching with a grin as a line of shadows dispersed from his finger tips.

"Aaugh!" The screams were loud and a few thuds were heard before Fire stood back up. The lines of shadows retreaded to the wall to form a semi ring.

"Looks like it's relatively free now. Shall we?" Fire extended his hand to Rain with a smirk.

"Sure." Rain nodded but didn't take his hand. Instead, she continued upwards with a serious gaze and Fire followed suit, trying hard not to show his rejected look.

The sudden burst of a door opening stopped them and Fire was about to attack when he saw a man fly out unconscious. Both smiled, slightly relieved, and entered with caution. Lightning was holding someone high up with just a hand.

"Where's the dog?" Lightning asked with a glare but the man was too scared to speak.

Rain quickly tried to look around in the surrounding rooms and another gunshot was heard but she managed to protect herself. "So you people are the one that woman sent. Ha! I get it! She never planned on paying the ransom!"

"Hey!" Fire called the attention of the man with the gun who held the unconscious dog. "Didn't anyone ever tell you it's not nice to bully the weak?" He asked while placing a hand on the wall. His shadow reached the ceiling and a burning smell reached their noses. Almost immediately, water fell on top of them.

Rain quickly jumped to the man and grabbed the dog before falling to the floor. The dark cover around her spread completely around her body as Fire's line of shadow encircled him. Lightning dropped the man in his grasp to the floor and pierced the cement with his pipe. Yelling loudly, the spiked lines fell to the floor as they encircled the pipe and covered the whole floor. Closing his eyes, Fire simply heard the painful screams of the men before they fell unconscious.

"Ooh, nice job guys." Last suddenly spoke up from the window outside. He was flying to see them but the wings fluttered a bit too much. Fire quickly hid his chuckle as Rain uncovered herself. "Oh, Rain-chan, please take Non downstairs to Shinra. He'll take care of the rest."

"Of course, Last-san." Rain nodded and ran off, followed by Fire.

"Noise Receiver…" Lightning began but Last cut him off.

"Oh, he's fine. Just ran a bit too much. See for yourself." Last laughed as he sat on the window, looking down on the outside, where the other two teens joined Black.

Noise, who had come up the stairs, quickly bowed to Lightning. "I apologize, Lightning Strike. I didn't wish to force your hand by seeming that weak. I'll be careful in the future."

"Eh…? Ah, sure. Just long as you know." Lightning thought the boy seemed to be acting a bit weird but kept quiet. He walked past him and headed down, not knowing the conversation about to take place.

"We'll be hated, Izaya-san." Noise spoke calmly but Last didn't care for that.

"How long have you known?" Last asked curiously without turning to face the teen.

"Long enough." Noise responded and failed to see Last's wide grin. "But even if it should happen as you wish, as long as Shizuo-san doesn't hate it and he's not driven to a corner to do it, then I can head even to the depths of hell itself."

Last turned around with eyes that knew everything and spoke. "Perfect! Then I'll make sure he's turned, Mikado-kun. Let's make it a race." Noise didn't agree or disagree and was about to leave when Last spoke again. "And you might want to prepare yourself. Your trials have just begun. There's someone really important in your quest that'll either make or break this plan. I hope you choose my side in the end though."

"I'll keep that in mind." Noise replied and left.

"Or I'll force you to, Noise Receiver." Last grinned and waited until Noise was on the bottom before joining the rest.

**End Part 2**

* * *

Sissy: Finished part 2! Not sure if I should make another part more or just leave it at this. Well, since the plan (and project) is to make the prequel of this, I might leave it at this for the moment. But, I might like to ask, any ideas someone might have for what kind of jobs these guys should have?


	24. In Your Eyes Revival

**Title:** In Your Eyes _Revival_**  
By:** Sissy

**Pairings:** You'll have to read this time.**  
Warnings:** T!chapter. Continuation (sorta) of chapter 22. I kinda wish I could turn this into a series. ... Scrap that, I'm making plans for it.

* * *

There was no denying the boy was odd, but since he was always a loner, he never thought too deeply on the subject. Besides, what better way to hide his treasure than by being alone? Though he was nine, Izaya knew that much. And it pleased him a lot. Of course, he still had a few things to be careful of, since the older kids could get kinda curious. For that reason, he carried his treasure with him at all times.

"So how did things turn out this way, you may ask?" Speaking to no one in particular, Izaya took another turn in the abandoned building and hid down below a piece of broken furniture. Voices passed by him and quieted down. Breathing out a small sigh, he seemed content with his choices in life.

"Damn, you really are here." This voice surprised him and Izaya grinned happily. If anyone caught his attention the most out of all the older kids, it was Masaomi. He and his twin, Saki, both only thirteen, had found him once again. "I hate it when Anri-chan is right. So what'd you do this time kid?"

"I feel insulted Masaomi. Those guys were the ones bullying me. They wanted my things. Those belong to me." Izaya pouted and felt Saki pinch his cheeks. "Hey! That hurts!"

Saki immediately stopped and softly smiled, a blush beginning to spread around her face. "Oh, sorry. Izaya-chan seems so cute when trying to act like an adult." Giggling, she walked back to her brother, who simply rolled his eyes at her actions.

"Come on, let's go Izaya. I don't want to waste more time here. There's someone I wanna see before heading off to work." He called out to Izaya, who smiled widely and ecstatically. Izaya preferred to be a loner, but he loved following this odd older kid.

As they walked away from the street full of rundown buildings, two older teens ran among the forests in search for something. Celty, the woman with non-asian looks who just recently turned eighteen, stopped suddenly, trying to see if she could spot what they needed. Her companion of the same age, Shinra, stopped just behind her to catch his breath while the wolf in their company sniffed the area.

"Are you sure there's a nest around here Celty?" He asked while fixing his glasses and heard the wolf growling. "Uma found something. I hate it when you two are right. So what now?"

"We'll have to call those two. Anymore movements from us and it'll be a danger to the village. We have to repay our debt Shinra so make sure you remember the surroundings." Celty replied and they ran away from the area. Shinra kept an eye out behind them in case anything decided to follow them. He knew Celty's worries were not unfounded but since he loved her there wasn't any reason for him to disobey.

Sundown arrived at the small village of reconstructed houses when Celty and Shinra came back. The first to greet them were the two front guards, Erika and Walker, who were only a year younger than them. "Welcome home!" They were received with a smile and they responded in equal fashion. "We're home."

"Is Seiji-san still at the school? We need to talk to him." Celty asked the two and received a pair of nods in return.

"He's tutoring the kids today. He should be done soon. Oh, we should ask for some lessons too Erika-chan. Mika-sama gets so jealous when the kids fawn over Seiji-san when they do it just because they adore her." Walker seemed to be enjoying himself as he tried to control his laughter. He always felt there was no need to worry too much about life.

"That'd be too mean of you, Walker-chan. Besides, you should spend your free time with Saburou-chan instead." Erika scolded him and the two entering couldn't help but laugh awkwardly. As they walked past Izaya they failed to notice him trying to pet the wolf.

The school was at the center of the village since it served as the stronghold for any possible attacks from the outside. Some students were still there, helping clean the premises for the classes of the next day. "Oh, welcome home Celty-san, Shinra-san." They were greeted by Kyohei and Saburou who both held a broom in their hands. Though they were fifteen, they were pretty responsible with their chores and helped around to keep the students safe.

"We're home." Shinra responded with a wide smile on his face. There was a joy he felt in being able to say this now. Before, he and Celty used to travel but they were saved by this village and decided to repay them. They would possibly spend the rest of their life here. It was comfortable.

"What room is Seiji-san in?" Celty quickly asked and they pointed in direction of what they knew to be the library. "Thanks. And congratulations Saburou-kun. I heard you took advantage of the situation and confessed." She meant no ill will but seeing Saburou blush made all three happy in an unexplainable way.

"Namie-chan!" Masaomi's voice was suddenly heard by the four before he yelped in pain. "So mean Namie-chan! I just wanted to say hi! And I'm going out to work so can't you give me a 'have a safe trip' at all?" He was pouting at the thirteen year old Namie who glared deeply at him.

"I already said I was going to marry Seiji-niisan! I have no interest in you at all, retard!" Namie exclaimed and walked inside the school, ignoring Saki who came to help Masaomi.

As Masaomi got up from the floor, he noticed the two adults coming towards him. "Oh, Celty-san, Shinra-san, Uma, welcome home!" He greeted them all with a soft blush and ran off along with Saki, who waved them goodbye.

Smiling, the three headed into the library, hearing loud yelling even from afar. "Stop touching Seiji-niisan!" Namie was currently trying to pull the only school teacher, Mika, away from her beloved brother, Seiji, the village leader. Though both were nineteen and younger than other adults, they were very respected for their troubles.

"We're home, Seiji-san." Celty announced their presence to the three in the room, trying to hide the blush on her face when she noticed Mika on top of Seiji's lap. They had probably thought they had some alone time since Seiji had been nibbling on Mika's neck birthmark which looked like a scar at times.

"Namie, I've got work to do. Go home." Seiji ordered his adopted younger sister and motioned the two to come forward. Celty and Shinra noticed Namie pout and walk away, but not before sticking her tongue out at the married couple. "So what'd you find?"

"A nest. About ten kilometers from the east streets. Uma smelled quite a lot in the area." Celty explained to them both and they seemed troubled by the news.

Clearing his throat, Seiji spoke again. "I'd hate to do this, but can you take Masaomi there to survey the area? Right now, those two are destroying another nest near the neighboring village so they won't be back for a while."

"You think he's up to it?" Shinra seemed worried about the safety of the younger child.

"He's been dying to meet the golden pair so this should give him something to brag about for when the two return. And he's not alone so it should be fine." Mika explained with a smile but Seiji still seemed worried about the situation. "Don't worry, Seiji. I trust my kids." And with that, Seiji agreed. Mika knew her students well and trusted them when it was necessary. So if she had faith, so did he. Her instincts had never failed them.

"Then where is he working today? I'd like to prepare him this mission since going tonight would be more dangerous than helpful." Shinra asked, almost about to leave without the important information.

"At the shrine. Some of the maidens have been worried for a while." Seiji explained the details too vaguely yet Shinra and Celty nodded, completely understanding his words.

Heading out of the school, they walked along the streets which were getting ready to tuck in for the day. The shrine was close to the school but you still had to take a detour to get there. Once there, they could see the ceremony going on at the moment. Masaomi was dressed in white and the maidens, almost all of them old women, surrounded him while chanting prayers.

"I hadn't actually watched this yet. I've heard it's pretty cool." Shinra spoke with a smile as he faced Celty. She was confused since she had never truly understood what made Masaomi special.

They maintained the silence and saw a large shadow form behind Masaomi. It reeked of malevolence and impurity. Somehow, it reminded them both of death itself. But Masaomi didn't feel any fear. Neither did the maidens. He opened his eyes and turned around to face the shadow. A sword began to pierce out from his hand and he now held it tightly. Smirking, he kissed the blade and battled it out with the shadow. The darkness helped illuminate his now bright red eyes to create a spectacular show.

Celty and Shinra were in awe how the blade moved flawlessly against the shadow, almost as if Masaomi and it were dancing at the same time they battled the shadow. A few minutes later, the shadow broke apart and a soft light filled the shrine. Candles were now lit and Masaomi retreated the sword back into him.

"That was amazing! I'd heard the purification ceremony is a sight to see! So that was the negative emotions from all the damage caused to our psyche?" Shinra asked curiously as he clapped energetically while walking forward with Celty. He stopped just a few feet from Masaomi as the maidens walked away.

"Good evening Shinra-san, Celty-san, Uma." Masaomi saluted each of them once more with a smile. "You know it was dangerous of you to come. This was a good night, miraculously. So, did you need something?"

"Seiji-san suggested we take you to scout a nest we found near here. Of course, it'll have to be early morning since it's too dangerous at night." Shinra explained to Masaomi who looked a bit too happy before frowning.

"You worry too much, Anri-chan." He muttered suddenly to himself and sighed. "Look, I have you don't I? I'll be fine as long as we stick together." Now smiling, he turned to the two who looked curiously at him. Masaomi seemed surprised by the stare and blushed. "Anri-chan talks to me. Only I can hear her voice so I talk out loud sometimes since she gets lonely."

Smiling at his explanation, though they had no idea what he was talking about, they replied softly. "We'll see you tomorrow at daybreak. Don't be late."

"Oh, yes! See you tomorrow!" Masaomi grinned and ran off towards his home. Saki was waiting for him there and he couldn't wait to tell her the news.

"Want to take a walk, Celty?" Shinra suddenly asked, catching Celty off guard when he took hold of her hand. She was blushing and felt like running away whenever Shinra showed so much love but nodded nonetheless. They had long since decided to stay together. For them, it somehow was meant to be when they had their first meeting.

Night fell quietly and peacefully and though the guards were alert, they were complacent. They knew nothing would happen that night. Attacks were rare and they had learned how to defend against their attackers.

"Izaya! Izaya! Where are you?" However, one man seemed worried for some reason. Aoba, who was only seventeen, looked around the village for the young Izaya. He had reached the gate when he somehow knew the other had run out once more without supervision. Izaya seemed to be able to protect himself but Aoba couldn't help but be worried nonetheless. Still, he knew Izaya would be back when he finished having his fun.

Day broke early and Masaomi arrived at the village gates to be greeted by Celty and Shinra. "Ready? Try and keep up, Masaomi-kun. Don't disappoint the rumors." Celty grinned happily; glad to see the chance of fully testing out the younger boy's supposed power.

Nodding, Masaomi ran after the three, surprising them with his speed. His eyes had turned bright red again and he smiled softly at the two in front of his vision. There was something he wished to say but kept it to himself for the time being.

A few hours later and they stopped in the same area where Uma had smelled the so-called nest. "What can you tell?" Shinra asked the boy who had closed his eyes. In a few seconds, he opened them again and looked east.

"Two dozen eggs and three adults. I can't see any more than that. My synchro with Anri isn't that good. Ah, no, Anri-chan! I'm not blaming you! If anything, I should be the one apologizing!" Masaomi began talking to himself but the two smiled in return for a moment, finding the whole scene amusing.

But as Masaomi continued to mumble some apologizes, Shinra and Celty looked serious at each other. They had the same worry now. "Three means there no need to guard it too much. That means they'll be born soon. This is bad." Shinra knew they needed to take care of this problem soon otherwise it would blow up in their faces and destroy the village.

"Someone's coming." Masaomi suddenly said as he looked towards a rustling noise at the same time as Uma. They had felt it coming. "Huh?"

What came from the long shrubs were a pair of sixteen year olds who were very famous in the village. Mikado, the shorter one, seemed surprised at the group, not expecting anyone to be near. Shizuo, the taller one, didn't seem to care about anything as he held Izaya by his backpack. Very quickly, Mikado looked down at Izaya. "So you were telling the truth?"

"I find it insulting that you would think I lie all the time. I'm an eccentric, not a liar Mikado-san." Izaya said in his defense as Masaomi took a few steps forward with a face that projected awe. Mikado took note of Masaomi and smiled in his direction.

"Hello. You must be Masaomi-kun, right? Izaya-kun keeps talking about you. Actually, you're all he's talked about during our time together." Mikado explained with a smile and Masaomi felt embarrassed about the whole thing. He hadn't expected Izaya to talk about him to these two. "Hello again Celty-san, Shinra-san. And of course, Uma-kun." With a smile, he pet the head of the wolf.

"Hello again. This is a good turn of events. We were supposed to wait for you to return so you could take care of this. Masaomi-kun was here to scout out the area." Shinra explained kindly and saw Mikado nod understandingly.

"There's no problem with that. Izaya-kun told us everything." Mikado turned to Izaya, who pouted. "You two forced me! I just wanted to make sure Masaomi didn't get roped into this mess!"

"Which you caused, right? Don't try to play cute here, brat." Shizuo glared at Izaya, who froze and tried to smile as if nothing was his fault.

"Hold on. What's going on? What did Izaya do?" Masaomi asked and took a few steps towards the boy who kept shaking his head in denial. "What. Did. You. Do?"

"I saw these two smooching." Izaya suddenly said, pointing to Mikado and Shizuo. The two were caught by surprise that Shizuo had let go of Izaya, giving him enough space to retreat. "Well, that wasn't a lie but it's my treasure. Thanks to it, I can hear your beloved Anri-chan and it makes me a treat to those." He explained with a sly grin and felt the sword pressing slightly on his skin.

"What did you do Izaya?" Masaomi was threatening the boy but the other didn't seem worried.

"Hey, if I get cut by Anri-chan, will you love me then?" Izaya suddenly asked, blushing slightly. "Will I be reflected in your eyes?" Suddenly, all of them froze. They had no idea what they felt but it seemed never ending. Uma howled to snap them out of their trance and tackled Izaya to the ground. Izaya's scream as he was bitten by Uma was enough to get Celty to pull her wolf away from the boy and Masaomi to check on Izaya.

What they saw next surprised them. Izaya's wound to his neck began to close and he got up like nothing was wrong. "Are you happy now? You managed to get a taste of my blood, right?" The young boy asked Uma, who growled in response. "Come off it, you enjoyed it! It's been a while since you've tasted anything, right?"

"What the hell just happened? You didn't say anything about this." Shizuo grabbed Izaya by his backpack again and forced the boy to face him at eyelevel.

However, Izaya simply pouted and let go of his backpack. "I told you already. Tasting that for a long time let me notice them but in return, it let them notice me. If they taste that, it'll be much harder to kill them so I don't let it go out of my eyesight. It's my treasure anyways." As Izaya spoke, Shizuo brought out a tube of liquid from the backpack.

"What do you mean it's Celty-san?" Masaomi suddenly asked and they all turned to him, then back to Celty who seemed confused. "Oh! Sorry! Anri-chan suddenly said something weird."

"Your senile friend makes too many confusing comments." Izaya pouted and turned to Shizuo. "Anyways, give that back." He ordered and the other did as told, not even knowing what that was much less how to open it.

"Alright, we can continue this conversation some other time. Shizuo, we should get to work. It'll be starting soon." Mikado suddenly said and Shizuo nodded in response. He then turned to the others and smiled. "It'd be better if you all head back, but you're welcome to see. Only from afar so we don't worry about you all. Though I trust Celty-san and Shinra-san can keep you safe."

With a wide grin, Masaomi nodded and Izaya followed suit. Shinra and Celty led the two youngest along with Uma, who kept an eye out for Izaya, who kept trying to pet him. The sun had finished coming out when they reached a hideout made of broken buildings. Mikado and Shizuo had seen much too many of these while Shinra and Celty had often come across these types of nest.

"Ready Mikado?" Shizuo asked while he took out a long blade from its sheathe. Mikado nodded and followed suit after doing the same. They ran towards the entrance and Celty thought it best to keep the younger ones away. She didn't want them to be in any danger or distract the two from their work. Masaomi and Izaya agreed in the meantime.

There were loud screeching sounds and what sounded like explosions before everything went quiet. At the end, Shizuo and Mikado came out, their hair completely yellow like the sun. Masaomi seemed dazzled by their hair while Izaya simply pouted. Shinra and Celty greeted them back with a smile as they noticed Shizuo lick a wound on Mikado's arm. That caused all of them to freeze.

"Sorry Shizuo. I was trying to hide it from you." Mikado apologized as both their hairs began to return to normal color. Suddenly, they looked at the crowd and only Mikado felt a bit awkward. "Oh, the effects of their blood goes away after a while. Well, as long as you're used to it. The first time, Shizuo and I had the color for three whole days."

"Well, that wasn't why we were looking, Mikado-san. You're so lewd." Izaya said with a sly grin, hiding his soft blush.

"Don't you get any ideas, brat! Mikado's mine!" Shizuo proclaimed as he hugged his partner possessively. Izaya laughed at that and received a smack to the head from Masaomi, causing him to pout.

Celty and Shinra seemed to enjoy this scene but both caught the attention of the four. "Let's head back and give the news to Seiji-san." They all nodded in return and began their trek back.

Once they had returned to the village, they were welcomed back by the guards, Seiji and Mika. Mikado and Mika seemed happy to see each other again since there had been sometime since they spoke. A sudden voice caught their attention though. "Izaya!"

"Geh!" Izaya was startled by Aoba's presence and Masaomi simply sighed. Seiji shook his head and Mika chuckled while the other four seemed confused. Though the village was small, there were a lot of people they had yet to have contact with. "Stay away Aoba!"

In one scoop, Aoba picked up Izaya with no problem and hugged him. "You damn boy! Don't make me so worried! Don't you know you're very important to me?" Aoba cried desperately and Izaya tried to push the older one away. He was only loved by him because he reminded Aoba of his mom. It irritated him to be thought of as a memento.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Mika-nee. I'll go help out at the school since I finally have a day off." Mikado bowed to Mika and walked into the village with Shizuo, who also gave a small bow before leaving.

"Then shall we have a small feast at home? Seiji-san is cooking tonight. You're welcome to come too Shinra-san, Celty-san." Mika suggested and Masaomi perked up. "I'll go get Saki then!" He proclaimed before running off. Izaya had tried to get his help but the older kid ignored him as he passed the youngest child by.

"We'll take you up on your offer then. Thank you." Celty smiled and followed the two towards their home. Namie would be there so it would become lively once Masaomi and Saki arrived.

"Are you done yet?" Izaya, who had resigned to his fate for the day, asked Aoba and was left on the ground. With a smile, Aoba offered his hand and Izaya took it to keep the older one quiet. He could escape again during the evening.

And with that, he sat on the roof of the school, dangling his feet from the corner. Even though he was a loner, Izaya sometimes liked hanging out with others. Provided, of course, that they didn't get close to his treasure. That's why it actually irked him when he was forced his hand and showed his treasure to the others.

"Hii…to…ro…vu…" Izaya murmured as he dialed on the keypad of the tube, unlocking the top. "Really, I'll never understand that guy's love of everyone. Well, I do guess we're kinda similar. If only in our oddity." He heard a growl behind him and turned his head to look at Uma. With a grin, he dipped his finger in the liquid and sucked the dipped finger. Almost immediately, his eye color changed to a golden color. "Yeah, this is much better. It's no fun talking if we can't do it while really looking at each other."

Uma growled in response but it made no sense to Izaya as he no longer saw a wolf in front of him but a large black headless horse. "I like looking at things this way. It lets me understand how different 'now' is from 'then', you know? Well, I just like looking in any case. You're different though. You've always being loyal to her so as long as you can stay near her, you don't mind what form you take, do you?"

A loud hoof knocked on the ground but it went unheard by anyone except Izaya. He grinned and tried to hide his chuckle. "Yeah, I figure. You're also one of them yet you decided not to attack and instead follow. It's because you remember. But you also want this, don't you? Too bad! It's mine!" Izaya stuck out his tongue to Uma and looked down at the village. For a while now, he no longer saw the tattered village but a flourished street with happy people. They had no idea that at some point their lives would change forever. Then again, it might not have been in their lifetime.

That's what always kept Izaya entertained when he looked at the past. That's why he was a loner and preferred not to show others his treasure. There was no need for anyone else to have what he had. And it was just fine that way.

"Until something else happens again." Izaya said for the final time with a grin and Uma howled in response, making sure the liquid in the boy's possession wasn't abused.

**End**

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Sissy: Decided to make a series anyways. So, small explanations that were probably not clear; Mikado and Mika are cousins but they had not been living together until Mikado was sent to the village and on the way he met Shizuo, had love at first sight and now they live together. Celty and Shinra grew up together and adopted Uma sometime in their travels, keeping it a secret that Uma's not really a real wolf. Izaya found the tube on an excursion on his own at the ruins of his old apartment or something. And Anri has been in Masaomi's family for a long time that only those who hear her voice can wield her. What do they fight against? Eeh, well, the idea in my head was a mixture between a wyvern and a tremor (for those who understand what I mean, yay!). That's all.


	25. Small and furry

**Title:** Small and furry**  
By:** Sissy

**Pairings:** None, I think.**  
Warnings:** K!chapter. Fantasy!AU. Shizuo, Izaya and Shinra are wearing their HS uniforms just like in the anime.

* * *

The first thing the kittens heard that morning was their mother's soft voice, "I'll be back in the afternoon. Make sure to listen to daddy, okay?" and then the door closed. They were all still half asleep so their mother's message wasn't heard, yet they knew it by heart. Around ten, one of them stretched his paws and looked around. He was trying to find his mother when his brother bit him to grab his attention.

"That hurts, Masaomi…" The black haired and blue eyed kitten whimpered lowly, sitting down to lick his paw. The other, Masaomi, was an orange tabby who scratched his neck after taking a loud yawn.

"Mom's out, remember? She works all day. Dad'll be home way later so let's play a bit!" Masaomi jumped on his brother and they rolled around the floor.

"Masaomi, you'll tire out Mikado. Remember he's not big enough yet. Mom will get angry." The other black haired kitten with the red eyes warned her brother and curled up against the brown tabby next to her. "Mika, you sound hungry."

"Anri's playing the mom card again. Come on, Mikado! Playing will strengthen you up!" Masaomi circled around Mikado and the younger brother pounced in response. Anri shook her small head and decided to sleep a bit more while the other two rolled around the floor.

Almost half an hour later, Mikado fell to the floor, wheezing lightly and Masaomi started circling him worriedly. Anri and Mika came by and started licking Mikado, followed by Masaomi. A bit later, Mikado began to purr lightly, still sounding slightly wheezy. Masaomi was pleased and looked around the apartment to try and find something else to play with and Mika followed him curiously.

"You just rest for a while, Mikado. I'll be back." Anri purred lightly and walked away to make sure her siblings weren't about to destroy something in their home.

As Mikado watched Anri leave, he started looking around the apartment. He hated being the smallest since he got tired easily. While trying to sleep, he noticed a butterfly flutter into the living room. He stared at it longingly, feeling jealous of how it was free of worries.

Without realizing it, he had started to follow the butterfly. His paws took him places he hadn't yet thought of going to and before Mikado could understand what was happening, there was a breeze surrounding him.

"Aah! Aah! AAH! Mikado! Mikado! It's Mikado! He fell! He fell! What do we do? What do we do? What do we do, Anri?" Masaomi started circling around with worry, not knowing what to do. He felt like following after his brother but knew it was both impossible and dangerous; and that just made him more uneasy.

"Daddy will be back later but it'll be too late by then…" Anri tried to think of a solution but she was just as worried.

Mika was the first to cry out loudly in despair and both her siblings responded in an equal fashion, not knowing what to do anymore. Unfortunately, their cries would continue until either of their parents came back home.

With an amazingly soft 'plop', Mikado landed on something hairy. He was surprised and dug his tiny claws on whatever was beneath him. There was no way he wanted to move but he could feel himself going forward. Whatever he landed on was moving and had yet to notice him.

"Heeelp! Masaomiii! Aaanri! Miikaa! Mooommyyyy!" Mikado cried out and he stopped moving.

"What the hell's all the 'nya nya nya'?" A large hand grabbed hold of Mikado and yanked him out with some force. "Who the hell are you? And why were you on my head?" Brown eyes glared at Mikado and the kitten flipped to grab hold of the hand but failed miserably.

As Mikado's voice sounded like incessant meowing to the male, the human got aggravated over it and was about to throw Mikado away. That movement allowed Mikado to cling to him. "I don't wanna fall! I don't wanna fall!" Mikado somehow found himself moving upwards and trying to find a hiding spot. Eventually, by burrowing his head, he hid in between the male's neck and shirt collar.

"You're scared? Of me?" He asked, seemingly angry at Mikado but the kitten just curled up and didn't move an inch. "Where did you come from anyways? Ah, whatever." The male seemed to not care anymore and continued his trek down the streets.

As the human kept going forward, Mikado slowly eased himself and turned around to look at his surroundings. This was the outside world he knew nothing of and was much too young to even think about. He found it interesting but still slightly scary, especially since he had no idea how to return home. Now he missed his siblings and mother. He could only hope his mom would find him soon.

"Tom-sempai, what do kittens eat?" Mikado heard the human ask once he entered an unknown place. It was a convenience store and there was no one around except another human male behind a counter. Mikado found it a bit cold and curled up closer to the male's skin.

"Where'd you get that?" The new male asked with a shocked look, pointing towards Mikado.

"Eh, somehow found him on my head. Then he ended up there. His claws are digging a bit into my skin but it doesn't hurt. I figure he might be hungry." The male explained to Tom who simply sighed and shook his head. "Anyways, can you help me give him some food?" As he tried to grab hold of Mikado, the kitten tried to escape by running backwards into the back of the male's neck.

Tom laughed at that motion, "Looks like he's scared of you, Shizuo." As Shizuo struggled to try and grab the moving kitten, Mikado in turn got more and more agitated. Eventually, he started getting tired and Shizuo managed to get a hold of him.

However, Shizuo noticed the kitten breathing hard and quickly freaked out. "What do I do? I've never taken care of anyone!" He asked Tom, who seemed worried too.

"I don't know. Uh, try easing him or something?" Tom watched as Shizuo tried to caress Mikado and slowly the kitten's breath became less erratic. Both sighed gladly and Shizuo placed Mikado back on his neck, feeling the kitten lightly claw it.

"Purring means he's happy, right?" Shizuo asked curiously and Tom nodded hesitantly. Pretty soon, Shizuo seemed happy with the kitten and completely ignored it after Mikado refused to eat anything it was offered, except water.

After that event, Shizuo started his part-time job shift with ease. A few customers eyed Mikado sleeping away curiously but none made a single comment about it. They seemed a bit freaked out about it. Around one, Shizuo got a phone call from a distraught acquaintance who spoke incoherently over the phone.

"Something happen?" Tom asked, seemingly amazed by how Mikado slept through the noise near him. He worried for a moment since it could have been that Mikado stopped breathing but discarded the thought when the kitten's ear twitched.

"Shinra's going nuts about his kid or something. I couldn't make it out that well." Shizuo ruffled his hair and sighed in frustration. He never enjoyed getting calls from that person. "Sorry to ask sempai, but can I…?"

"Go. Don't worry about your shift. I'll tell the boss you had an emergency." Tom smiled and Shizuo thanked him before running off out of the store. The sudden dash woke Mikado up and the kitten tried his best to hang on.

Suddenly, Shizuo felt something and was about to dodge to his left but ducked when he remembered the kitten's position. "My, my, Shizu-chan, that's new for you. I don't think I've ever seen you duck before." The voice irked Shizuo, who turned around to face the assailant that had tried to hurt him. Mikado didn't know who this was but something about the air made him feel scared.

At that moment, Shizuo completely forgot both about the kitten on him and the call placed to him. "Iiizaaayaaa!" The male ran towards the newcomer with an angry face and grabbed whatever was closest to him, effectively ripping it out of the ground. Mikado was surprised by that act, wondering how strong exactly the human he was with was.

"You seem to be more angry than usual? Did I bother you at work, Shizu-chan?" Izaya teased Shizuo with a wide smirk and threw more knives towards him. Shizuo dodged them all and ran towards Izaya, swinging the sign in his hand. As he tried to make a connection with Izaya's body, the other noticed the scared kitten. "Bwaha! What the hell? Shizu-chan is carrying a kitten? That looks hilarious!"

"Shut up and die you flea!" Shizuo completely ignored Izaya's comment or he didn't hear it right since he continued his attacks, despite that Mikado's small claws had drawn some blood from his neck.

"Mooommyyy!" Mikado cried out, scared out of his wits by now. There was too much movement and hostility for him to bear.

"_**WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TWO DOING? STOOOP!**_" Shizuo and Izaya froze at the loud voice that rang even inside their heads. Suddenly, a mass of black shadow wrapped their bodies and pushed them to the ground. A woman dressed in black rode in on her motorcycle, glaring deeply at the two males. The shadow that extended from her didn't surprise them, and neither did the ears and tail on her body. "I'm going to kill both of you!"

As the shadows forced both males to sit on their knees, the woman stepped towards them both. Mikado looked up and immediately cried out. "Mommy!"

"My poor baby, are you alright?" She asked once she picked up Mikado from Shizuo's neck. The two males were in shock as the cat-woman nuzzled her kitten. "If anything happened to you, I'd be forced to reduce the city to ashes. Mommy was very worried. Though you made your daddy proud for some reason."

"Uh, Celty…?" Shizuo was the first to speak and saw her turn to him. "That's your and Shinra's kid?"

Celty smiled and nodded, turning to look at Mikado again. "Though one of them. Well, I'll be going now." As she moved towards her bike, Mikado meowed at her, causing her to stop and look bewildered. However, she soon smiled and nodded to her son.

Shizuo and Izaya stared in shock as Mikado turned into a human child about a year old with ears and tail. He moved his hands towards Shizuo in a wave while smiling and said, "Bai bai, Shishuoshan." His child-like words caused Celty to hug Mikado closer even when he reverted back into a kitten.

"I guess I should thank you for taking care of Mikado during this time. If it wasn't for you, I think he'd be dead. Thank you Shizuo." Celty smiled at the embarrassed male and placed Mikado inside her suit before returning to her bike. Once she rode off, the binding shadows came off and the two enemies remembered the others' presence, causing their fight to continue.

The mother and son pair soon returned home to their apartment, completely ignoring the sounds of mayhem that had been behind them initially, and were greeted by a happy male. "Welcome home, Celty! Mikado!" He hugged both of them and kissed Celty softly.

"Daddy!" Mikado meowed happily and he got picked up before feeling soft pats on his back.

"You know, I was really happy to hear you somehow made it to the window but please don't ever go near it like that again. Daddy almost had a heart attack. I'm too young for that." He reminded Mikado and earned a nod in response.

"Go return him to the others, Shinra. I'll prepare something for us to eat." Celty smiled and Shinra nodded, going over to the other three in the living room.

"Mikado!" The kitten was welcomed back by his siblings who proceeded to tackle him and make sure he was absolutely okay. Shinra sat down on the sofa and watched all four with a smile before turning to Celty, "How did he survive the fall?"

"Oh, it seems he was with Shizuo the whole time. I have this feeling he was at the right time in the right place. Mikado even said goodbye to him before we left those two." Celty spoke from the kitchen while smells slowly came from there.

"I hope he didn't get too excited, I'm not letting those two meet Mikado or the others again. Especially since I called him to help me. I can't believe he ditched my cry for help just so he could fight Izaya-kun." Shinra pouted but smiled when he saw Mikado and Masaomi rolling on the floor.

Since the family was together, they didn't care about anything else at the moment. And that was all that mattered.

**End**

The doorbell rang another day and Celty opened the door to face another cat-woman holding two cat-children like sacks of potatoes. "Na-Namie? What happened? You usually never go out." Celty asked confused and saw the woman scoff.

"Mother's getting in on her years and couldn't get out of bed so I got stuck with these two." Namie explained while heading inside the apartment without waiting for an invitation. "You're younger so I'll leave them with you. I'll pick them up in the afternoon."

"Hold on a second!" Celty stopped the woman and looked at her seriously. "You're staying for a while since you haven't come to see me in a long time. I never hear from you anymore."

With a sigh, Namie responded. "Fine. I guess I'll stay a while. Where are your kids so I can throw these with them?" Celty led Namie to the living room, where her four kittens were playing amongst themselves. "Here, brats. Play with them." Namie said but Celty didn't know to whom she referred before the other tossed her kids to the kittens. The two landed as kittens themselves and jumped towards the four.

"Hi!" All six kept greeting each other very happily.

"I'm Saki, that's my big brother Seiji." The dark brown tabby who was smaller than her same-coat sibling walked in circles with Masaomi.

"Masaomi. And this is Mika." Masaomi pounced over Mika, rolling on the floor with her. "Over there is Anri and Mikado. They don't play much so you gotta force them to join." He explained and Saki nodded, running over with Masaomi to force the other two to join them.

"I'm glad they get along. You should bring them over more often. I'm sure they get bored alone. Having more kids their age would be nice." Celty smiled to Namie while looking for some tea to prepare.

"If it'll take them off my back for a while, I don't mind. I'll talk to mother about it." Namie responded and saw Mikado walk towards his mother with Anri in tow as human-like children.

"Mommy!" They both cried out and Celty turned around to face them but first took a glance at the clock on the wall. She gave them an affirmative nod to them and both grinned happily. "Bai bai, mommy!" They spoke at the same time and ran for the balcony.

Namie watched curiously as the two turned back into kittens and threw themselves from the balcony. Immediately, Namie stood up and faced Celty with a concerned look. "Oh, it's time for Shizuo to pass by the apartment. He takes this road to and from his workplace. Ever since Mikado met him, it's been their hobby to greet him when he's coming back from work."

"Mommy, we wanna do it next time!" Masaomi cried out from the living room.

"You sure got guts. What if he wasn't down there?" Namie asked curiously, taking her seat once more.

"Mikado was born sickly but with a lot of luck. He's always been fine." Celty sounded proud of that fact and the doorbell rang a few minutes later. "There's Shizuo. I'll go greet him." And with that, the day passed with ease. This was something that could turn monotonous for the kittens but they enjoyed it anyways.

**Extra End**

* * *

Sissy: Imma be honest, I just wanted to write this adorable scene where Mikado says goodbye to Shizuo in that childlike tone since the moment it came to my head. Was it adorable? Did it give you cavities? I hope it did.


	26. Out there, with you

**Title:** Out there, with you**  
By:** Sissy

**Pairings:** szmk + aokr**  
Warnings:** T!chapter. Continuation of drabble 5.

* * *

The wind passed by them as the car drove away from the building at the cape. The teen driving seemed a bit too young for it but he didn't care. This was his baby and no one would drive it but him. The girl next to him tried to sit closer him but she was very interested in the outside. Behind them were two older people. One was another teen who laid down his head on the lap of the older man with an aloof smile. The older man, in turn, kept gazing downward to the teen with an embarrassed look on his face.

"It's a job well done, right Mikado-san?" The teen driving asked while taking a quick glance towards the teen in the back.

"Good boy, Aoba-kun." The one called Mikado-san got up and dangerously gave the one driving, that he called Aoba-kun, a quick kiss on the lips.

"No!" The other two yelled and the man pulled Mikado to the backseat again, this time wrapping him up in his arms.

"Anyways, shall we go home, Mikado-san?" Aoba asked with a grin and heard something in the distance that caused him to pull over.

"There they go! Off into the sunset!" Mikado grinned with a childlike smile and got up on the seat before twirling. The older man got surprised and pulled him down again. "Bye bye Celty Sturluson-san! Bye bye Kishitani Shinra-san!" He waved to the figures galloping away on the open sea as if nothing was wrong with that picture.

"You were only there to free her?" The older man asked Mikado as he looked below to the teen.

"Like a bird!" Mikado replied earnestly while throwing his hands in the air. He didn't look a tiny bit uncomfortable in his new position and brought the man's face closer before giving him a deep kiss.

"Whoa, never seen Mikado-san take to someone so fast. You've interested him, Shizuo-san. Just a bit of advice though, don't you ever betray Mikado-san." Aoba warned with a smile though his eyes projected a lot of hostility.

"Bird? (What did he mean by bird?)" The girl asked him curiously while taking the opportunity to get closer to Aoba. "Free? (Did he mean that she would be free like a bird?) Love? (Does he love birds that much?)"

"Ah, oh, yeah. Mikado-san's obsessed with birds. I've had to stop him quite a few times from throwing himself off building roofs. But that's just why I love him. He's pretty honest with himself." Aoba commented easily as he returned to driving the car away.

"Don't you dare do such a thing, Mikado." The older man who was threatened after being called Shizuo-san pleaded with Mikado as he brought the teen closer to him. Mikado, in turn, simply laughed happily and gave him another kiss.

"Anyways, we're heading home. It's a pretty small place but if you're both going to join us, you'll have to live with it." Aoba warned them both and felt the girl wrap her arms around his closest one.

"Always. (I'll go anywhere with you.)" She said and heard Mikado laughing in the back.

"Thanks Kururi-chan. I know what you sacrificed to come with us." Aoba smiled joyfully to the girl he called Kururi-chan and soon mounted the freeway. For the next three hours all four simply heard the music on the radio and sometimes sang to something.

Once they neared a city, Aoba took the first exit he found and brought them to a rather sketchy part of town. There seemed to be no one around but Aoba didn't mind. Shizuo kept his guard up for no reason while Mikado did not seem to notice anything. Kururi remained the same as Mikado but she seemed interested in their surroundings.

"We're here. This is one of our safe houses. Someone should be inside by now." Aoba explained once he parked the car in front of a store. "Let's go." He turned off the engine and jumped off, along with Mikado who had quickly followed suit.

Both Shizuo and Kururi followed after them but the older man had been curious. "Should you be leaving that car there like that?" He asked after grabbing Mikado's hand.

"Oh, don't worry about that sort of thing. No one would mess with my baby." Aoba grinned mischievously and felt Kururi tugging his hand with both of hers. Now that he remembered, she still had those handcuffs on. It was a good thing they needed to stop here first then.

"Welcome home." The voice inside was bored and both Shizuo and Kururi recognized it. One lone man waited inside the store, behind the counter.

"We're home!" Both Mikado and Aoba replied with a smile as they walked over to the man.

"Shizuo? And one of the twins? You brought them with you? That wasn't part of the plan, Aoba. What the hell were you two thinking?" The man behind the counter seemed displeased by what was in front of him.

"You know we never think, Kadota-san!" Aoba replied with a goofy grin and placed his arms on the counter. "Anyways, can you help us out? We need a change of clothes and we should also get everything off of us."

The man called Kadota-san sighed deeply at the two. He always knew they were like this. He should've known that something would happen. "Head into the back. I asked Kaztano to bring a change of clothes for you two but I guess he might have something for the other two around."

"Thanks Kadota-san!" They both replied and walked around the counter, motioning to their companions to follow them.

Shizuo eyed Kadota who took one glance at him before returning to minding the store lazily. "Why is Kadota here?"

"Kadota-san is also a part of us. He regularly goes into the compound to check on those two. They get lonely every so often. But they left today a bit earlier than we did." Aoba explained as they took the first door on the left and descended a flight of stairs. "The whole group doesn't know each other but since Mikado-san joined us, he's been getting people to meet more often."

"What does that mean?" Shizuo was curious as Mikado ran to the bottom and passed the door there.

"We were in trouble last year because of some infighting. The group and everything we'd work for was about to blow up in our faces. Then I met Mikado-san and he singlehandedly got everyone to cool off. That's when both Kadota-san and I asked him to lead us." Aoba grinned and opened the door Mikado had gone through to reveal a large underground hall.

"Whoa." Both Kururi and Shizuo were surprised to see the place.

"Kaztano-san, I don't see Togusa-san with you." Aoba looked around after coming closer to the bar.

"Prisu, prisu! Alwash plodeging Mr. Migado!" The thick accent caused Shizuo to close in eyes in pain and for Kururi to turn her gaze away. Aoba seemed used to it and followed the direction in which the man called Kaztano-san was pointing.

"Oh. Anyways, do you got any change of clothes I could borrow for these two? I didn't get a chance to tell Kadota-san last time before he left about this. It was pretty last minute." Aoba joked and Shizuo noticed how Mikado was held by another man who seemed to be protecting him from the surrounding people.

As Shizuo walked over with an angry look, Kaztano replied with a grin. "Aft curse! Alwash far yo!"

Aoba grinned in return and nodded before speaking again. "Great. I should get Togusa-san to…"

"Let go of Mikado!" Aoba froze when he heard the scream. The hall turned silent and all gazes were directed at the three people in the center of the mess. Aoba groaned and walked over to them, followed closely behind by Kururi.

"And who the hell are you? Another one of the indecent suitors?" The man glared in response, pulling Mikado closer to him.

"Shizuo-san, here, here." Mikado smiled and motioned for the blond man to come closer without paying any attention to what was happening around him.

"Mikado-san, what are you…?" The man was curious as to Mikado's actions when he saw the teen pull Shizuo to him for a deep and long kiss. There was a loud surprised gasp from every person in the hall, except Aoba, who seemed to be enjoying the show, and Kururi, who didn't seem to care. "Aoba…what the hell?"

"Mikado-san's new partner, I believe. His name's Shizuo-san. We broke him out of the compound." Aoba explained with a smile as he got even closer to the group. Once both he and Kururi were with them, Mikado let go of Shizuo.

"Ah, from Ward A. I wasn't interested much in those guys except for those two." The man sighed as he let go of Mikado, who was promptly picked up by Shizuo. "Name's Togusa. Please take good care of Mikado-san, unless you wanna die." For the second time, Shizuo was threatened by people who were clearly weaker than him.

"Yeah, him. Anyways, can you help us out?" Aoba asked and the man who called himself Togusa nodded before following the four to another back room.

Among the many clothes, Mikado waited for his and Kururi's shackles to be taken off by Togusa before running off with the girl. Shizuo was about to follow them but Aoba held him back since he had to have his own shackle taken off as well. Once they were done, Aoba proceeded to look for something to change into and dragged Shizuo with him.

"It fits!" Mikado yelled, barging in on the two who were changing with Kururi in tow. Aoba smiled in their direction, pleased with the attire Mikado chose for Kururi, while Shizuo had frozen in place, not knowing what to do since both him and Aoba were half naked.

"You look cute, Kururi-chan." Aoba complimented the girl as he picked up a nearby shirt and put it on. "Thanks Mikado-san." Once the teen nodded in response, Aoba bent down to kiss Kururi softly but the girl quickly turned the kiss intense on them.

"Shizuo-san, let's go!" Mikado jumped on Shizuo's back even though the older man had yet to put on a shirt and pointed towards the exit. Shizuo nodded in response and grabbed the shirt Aoba had offered to him earlier and walked on, leaving the two behind.

"Indecent!" Togusa yelled once Mikado and Shizuo came out alone. Kadota was there as well, looking bored. There were a few laughs in the air as Mikado got down and walked over to Togusa to pet his head. "Why someone like that guy, Mikado-san?"

There was a silence before Mikado answered, which Shizuo used to put on the shirt. "Isn't it nice?" With a rebuttal question, the hall fell silent. Shizuo swore some of them paled and he walked over to join the rest.

"Well, just be careful Shizuo." Kadota warned and took the drink offered to him.

"What is it with everybody? I can't tell whether they care for Mikado or not. And you never said anything about this either." Shizuo looked angry and Mikado went over and sat in his lap after the older man sat next to Kadota.

"I don't answer to you, Shizuo. And there is no one we must care for more than Mikado so I won't save you when the time comes." Before Shizuo could ask something about those words, Mikado intervened. "It won't happen. Right, Shizuo-san?" He grinned and pulled down Shizuo's head for another kiss.

"I remembered, Mikado-san!" Aoba came bursting in and headed to the group while holding onto Kururi's hand. "Kadota-san! Did you pay our rent?"

"Ah." Kadota spoke and Aoba paled.

"Mikado-san, forget your make out session for now! Our livelihood's at stake!" Aoba pulled Kururi with him and ran for it outside. Mikado stopped and smiled at Shizuo before pointing to Aoba's ghost. The older man nodded and picked up Mikado before running off after the other two.

"Is Mikado-san…serious about that guy?" Togusa asked amazed.

"I knew Shizuo was interested in Mikado but… It is nice. Now he won't feel lonely." Kadota softly smiled and continued drinking calmly. This was a good change. That last job had been a good choice for them.

Aoba shifted gears without waiting for Mikado and Shizuo and had almost driven away without them but the older blond managed to jump into the back without problems. Mikado laughed happily, as if they were in an amusement park and Aoba hadn't been terribly worried. Kururi didn't know what was going on and kept looking back at the two since Shizuo looked tired from the sudden sprint he had to do.

"This is one of those times when I dislike you, Mikado-san!" Aoba yelled as the car sped through the streets. Kururi was startled by the turns and tried holding on to the car for support. Shizuo did the same while holding onto Mikado with his free hand.

"There's no problem!" Mikado sang happily, as Aoba took another sharp turn and Shizuo fell to the other side of the car. Even in that state, Shizuo made sure Mikado didn't fall from his grasp or hit his head with anything.

"Okay? (Why are we hurrying so much?)" Kururi asked curiously, rechecking her seatbelt out of fear.

"Because I was too lax recently! Damn it! I knew I shouldn't have trusted Mikado-san to give the message to Kadota-san! Those two…! Whenever they get together, they do nothing but drink!" Aoba hit the steering wheel and continued onwards.

Shizuo looked down at Mikado and sighed. He was worried about something else for a moment but Mikado's smile and another kiss from him eased him a bit more. Kururi seemed a bit jealous for a moment but knew well to drop the issue for the moment. Especially when Aoba was driving like a maniac.

Almost an hour later, Aoba screeched the wheels as he parked in front of a worn down apartment building. He got off, followed by the three behind, and knocked on the first room of the first floor. Mikado hummed to himself and walked up the stairs to the last apartment. Shizuo followed the boy just in case as they headed into the opened apartment.

"Landlady! You in there?" Aoba's voice could be heard as Mikado headed to open the windows of the stuffy place.

Shizuo saw nothing in this rundown apartment except the tiny kitchen attached to the room that held only a small table and a computer. Mikado opened the closet and took out the futons on the top part of the closet before throwing them out into the room. Then he dusted the top part and went over to pick up one of the futons. Shizuo watched curiously as Mikado aired out the futon and placed it back inside the closet then go inside. Before the older man could say anything, Mikado closed the closet door and there was shuffling heard.

"MIKADO-SAN!" Aoba ran up and came inside. Shizuo looked over to the boy, who quickly opened the closet from the other side to look at the teen. "Was that funny? Was it funny?"

"Aoba-kun needs to relax." Mikado replied and turned away in order to try to sleep.

"That wasn't funny, Mikado-san!" Aoba sobbed, falling to the floor. He closed the door to the closet and got back up. After clearing his tears away, Aoba faced Shizuo and the recently arrived Kururi with a smile. "Alright! Welcome to our humble abode!"

"This is where you two live? In this decrepit empty apartment?" Shizuo asked with a shocked look.

"Supposedly, there used to be furniture here but Mikado-san's father took it all. All that was left was Mikado-san's futon and that table over there where my computer is." Aoba explained as he put the second futon to the side and sat down. Kururi quickly joined him and wrapped her arms around his left arm.

"Where are you going with this story?" Shizuo asked while eyeing the boy. Something smelled fishy to him.

"Well, Mikado-san is your responsibility now so I wanna prepare you." Nodding to himself, Aoba continued. "I said about our infighting last year, right? Well, during that time, I had been betrayed and seriously thought I was going to die. Mikado-san found me then and nursed me back. Sounds like such a soap opera right? It gets even better."

Kururi could tell Aoba was angry but kept quiet and simply rested her head on his shoulder. Aoba calmed down a bit and smiled at Kururi before continuing again.

"That very same day, Mikado-san's father took everything with him and left Mikado-san alone. I didn't know that then. But Mikado-san was very kind to me, a total stranger. Once I regained my senses however, I realized Mikado-san's…condition." Aoba glanced over to the closet but heard nothing. He figured that the teen didn't care about the talk or was already asleep.

"What condition? The kissing machine thing or how he doesn't regard other people's feelings by doing whatever the hell he wants?" Shizuo asked and Aoba sighed happily. At least Shizuo was well aware of how Mikado had acted the whole time during their stay together.

"Yes, that condition. But there's something else to it that Mikado-san managed to hide well during our stay at the compound. It was thanks to everyone's interest in him that it didn't surface. You see, Mikado-san will love anyone who loves him first but… If he shows interest in someone first then the whole deal becomes different. Mikado-san…he'll…try and rape you first…" Aoba turned red and hid his face with his free hand. Both Shizuo and Kururi understood that it happened to him as well. "Mikado-san is a genius; I know that because Kadota-san and I had him tested but his father twisted his views on everything so nothing he does usually makes sense. But he's smart. He knows exactly what he's doing most of the time; he just has a completely misunderstanding about relationships. And when he snaps, that is, when he realizes that nothing is going to go according to plan, he tends to get violent."

"You saying that's why Kadota warned me he wouldn't help me?" Shizuo was confused.

"Well, once Mikado-san's in love with someone, he'll show a bit of that violent side little by little. I think he knows you'll survive it all that he hasn't done anything. But it might be because you showed the interest first. And…well, not for nothing Shizuo-san but you're a hell of a lot violent yourself so he might just be using you in his stead. In a way, I think you both suit each other in that aspect. So please take good care of Mikado-san. I owe him my life after all." Aoba gave the man a bow but the other just scoffed in return.

Shizuo stood up and opened the closet to see the happy Mikado looking at him. "I heard you the first time, Mikado. Also, Aoba." He turned to Aoba for a moment before continuing his sentence. "I don't care if Mikado burns me, stabs me, shoots me or does as he wishes with my body. I'll just teach him every time that it's wrong of him to do it." With that, he entered the closet and lay down next to the teen before closing the door.

"Oh, yeah. They definitely suit each other." Aoba laughed and brought Kururi closer to him before giving her a long kiss. "Hey, since we got paid, you wanna buy some stuff for this place with me? I can't just keep a girl like you here with just those clothes and there's a few more things we need since Mikado-san sold it all!" He bit towards the closet but shook his head in defeat.

"Always. (I'll follow you anywhere.)" Kururi responded and he felt happy to have her with him. Getting up the two left the apartment.

"I thought they'd never leave." Shizuo murmured as he brought Mikado closer to him. The other had fallen asleep after biting Shizuo's neck and leaving his mark on him.

And with that, the case was closed. As long as their partners could stay with their beloveds, nothing else mattered.

**End**

* * *

Sissy: This all happened because when I wrote drabble 5, a bit later, I felt like writing Mikado's background. The whole thing had names now in order to not have the confusing shit I did it 5. I get confused when I read it, and I wrote it! This time around, we get to see the missing people who didn't show up from that picture.


	27. Misunderstandings is spelled with an M

**Title:** Misunderstandings is spelled with an M**  
By:** Sissy

**Pairings:** szmkks**  
Warnings:** M!chapter. Based on episode 25 after the whole ordeal. One of the last scenes was based on pixiv picture 12727753.

* * *

The light Mikado saw once his sight was uncovered felt terribly bright. It actually was purposely done that way for effects rather than a necessary reason. In any case, Mikado was confused. He had no idea where he was or why he was there. Maybe it had something to do with the Dollars but Izaya had promised not to reveal his identity. Then again, Mikado didn't know Izaya could sell him out in a heartbeat if it meant getting some sort of entertainment value out of it.

But none of that was important at the moment. What was important was that someone was now in his field of vision, as clouded by the light as it was. "What is your relationship with brother, Ryugamine-san?" A voice asked and Mikado knew it belonged to the person in front of him. All he could tell was that it was male and Mikado could swear he heard a displeased tone from it but it somehow sounded monotonous.

"W-who?" Mikado asked, knowing his voice came out like a whimper. He didn't care at the moment that it might give his captor a feeling of superiority. The teen had absolutely no experience with this type of situation so it was a given he might be sounding rather meek.

"The man you know as Shizuo-san, Ryugamine-san." The voice explained and for some odd reason, Mikado's first thought had been 'Shizuo-san has a brother?' instead of anything else.

Flapping his lips, Mikado replied rather stupidly, "I just know him because everyone else does. Ma-Masaomi told me to be careful of him, that's all." At that answer, the light focused on him more and Mikado tried to shield himself from it but he finally realized he was tied up to something. A chair, most likely, since he could feel his body sitting somewhere.

"A normal person would call him Heiwajima-san or Heiwajima Shizuo, not Shizuo-san. So I ask again, what are you to brother?" Now Mikado could swear this person was angry. But he didn't know what kind of answer to give. True, it made some sense but Mikado and Shizuo were definitely not what you would call friends. Not like he had been with Masaomi. Though if that was what friends were to Mikado, Izaya would probably be his best pal.

"But I just know him! I've never actually spoken to him!" Mikado yelled, slightly frustrated. That much was true but the other person was probably not very pleased since they pushed Mikado to the floor. "I don't understand what's going on!"

"You are a liar, Ryugamine-san. You must be something to brother, so why won't you tell me?" Now it felt like the man was pleading. Mikado didn't understand, was this person jealous like Yagiri Namie was with Seiji? Or were they confused? "Why didn't brother introduce you to me?"

Mikado freaked out at those words. This person was jealous of something completely different from what Mikado originally thought. 'Hold on, did I get kidnapped because he's got a brother complex?' In his mind, Mikado was trying to run as many scenarios as possible when he felt the weight of the other person move.

"Oh, I got it. Brother must've thought I wouldn't understand. You're his lover, right?" And there was another wild thought that was just dropped. Mikado felt like fainting. There was so much he didn't understand, but just one thing came to mind.

"Why don't you just ask Shi…Heiwajima-san, um, Heiwajima-san?" Even Mikado knew how retarded that question sounded after he spoke it out loud. But he just wanted to avoid making his captor anymore anxious or at least stop thinking weird things. If he could just ask Shizuo, this whole thing would be over. Heck, Mikado wouldn't even press charges since it was just a misunderstanding.

"Brother doesn't come to see me often…" His captor seemed to sound just a tad lonely but Mikado didn't know how he could tell considering the voice was still monotonous.

"What about calling him yourself? I doubt he would be upset about getting a call from you. I don't have any siblings but I don't think siblings will ever stop talking to each other, no matter what." Mikado's blind faith in happiness seemed to perk up his captor when he was suddenly kissed in the mouth. "W-w-w-w-wha-?" Even if he could back up, Mikado had forgotten he was tied up so escaping was never an option given to him.

"How cute. It seems brother's tastes are at least similar to mine." Mikado's mind turned blank at that comment. First he was kidnapped, then he was thought of as a friend of Shizuo's before being labeled as his lover and now he was sort of confessed to, maybe. But before Mikado could comment on how wrong the person on top of him was, he yelped at the sudden touch in his lower parts.

"Hei…Heiwajima-san… Why are you…? Ah!" Mikado closed his eyes when he felt his pants being opened. Now there was probably no going back. Mikado was going to be raped. After all, he'd at least heard how the more your voice changed, the more the attacker would be interested.

"Ryugamine-san is cute. I wanted to thank you." Even though he was being fondled, Mikado could tell how the other was being gentle with him. All the touches were soft and passive, but just enough movement to get him excited.

"Thanks for what? I haven't done anything… So please stop." He pleaded but the other wasn't stopping. Mikado's moans turned lustful and he felt himself reaching his climax.

"So cute. May I call you Mikado-kun? You could call me Kasuka in return." Mikado freaked out. It didn't seem like this person would listen at all. Pretty soon, Mikado ended up showering the man's hands with his cum and it caused the younger teen to feel somehow embarrassed.

"Hey, Kasuka! What the hell's up with this message?" As soon as the door was kicked in, Mikado saw a bright light. Well, less bright than the one pointed at him but more meant as a beacon of hope. He recognized the voice and failed to remember in what position he was in. "What the…?"

Shizuo had been placed in shock once he caught the silhouette of the two on the floor. The light pointed at them was pretty bright in the dark room. It was actually covered with heavy dark curtains. "Oh, hello brother." Kasuka simply greeted with a normal expression, letting Mikado notice the face of his captor.

"Hanejima Yuuhei?" Mikado's mind clicked with the interview that afternoon. He certainly had called Shizuo's name but just how had this celebrity managed to find him again anyways? "I don't understand what's going on!" He yelled again and Shizuo turned his gaze on the boy, followed by the same captor whose other name was screamed.

"Right." Kasuka nodded but Shizuo didn't understand what he meant by that word. Once the younger brother faced the older, he asked, "Brother, why didn't you tell me about your lover?"

"Again, what lover?" Shizuo asked but Mikado didn't comprehend the need for the word 'again' in that question.

"Mikado-kun." Kasuka pointed to Mikado before helping him sit back up. Or rather, placing the chair in the correct position. Shizuo's eyes went wide as soon as he saw the opened pants and Mikado wished he could just disappear. He felt that he was brought in to an unknown dispute between two brothers.

"Who? And what the hell have you done?" Shizuo knew the kind of trouble Kasuka could get into even though Mikado just wanted to be gone from there and forget the whole ordeal. Both brothers, though, had different ideas.

"That's terrible. Not remembering Mikado-kun's name, brother. And I was thanking him for believing in you like I do." Kasuka almost sounded angry and it surprised Shizuo. Almost immediately, Kasuka turned to Mikado who only wished for Kasuka to forget about him as well. That small beacon of hope when Shizuo didn't remember him was thoroughly squashed as soon as Kasuka opened his mouth again. "I'll take care of you Mikado-kun. Don't worry, you can forget about brother easily."

'I just want to leave…' Mikado bit back his words in case it might have the opposite effect and tried to find some sort of opening. It would actually only come much later, voluntarily.

"Kasuka, please, for all that's important to you. Let go of the kid. I don't know him and he doesn't know me. If you keep doing this, your job will be in trouble." Shizuo asked and stepped forward, not noticing his brother's mood. Mikado had though, since Kasuka had been holding his hand.

As Mikado thought about what to say to ease the star, the younger brother walked over to his older brother. "Why are you both lying? Mikado-kun called you by your name, not your last name, brother. He definitely knows you. Ah."

Once Kasuka stopped talking, Shizuo looked a bit worried and Mikado was simply confused. He knew by now that the man was probably thinking something weird again. And just as he thought it, Kasuka opened his mouth once again with a ridiculous theory.

"I'm sorry Mikado-kun. I revealed your crush. You're in love with brother but were unable to tell him." Mikado froze and left his mouth hanging wide open when Kasuka came back towards him. "Don't worry, I'll support your love. Go on, tell him." Shizuo noted how Kasuka seemed to have brightened up but failed to realize that Mikado seemed to have given up on everything.

Not knowing what to say, Mikado started crying. And once more, for the third time, Kasuka had a misconception. However, this time, Shizuo joined in. "He-hey… Stop… Don't cry… I can't handle it when people cry. Come on! I'll accept you! I'll learn to love you even though I don't know you!"

"That's very nice of you brother." Kasuka nodded and Mikado noticed how neither had realized the truth so his tears fell even more. Shizuo freaked out and Kasuka took the lead by giving Mikado a kiss on the mouth. The action was so surprising, that Mikado stopped crying immediately. Shizuo though, as surprised as he was, got angry and pulled Kasuka away. "Well, he also looked cute crying but since you wanted him to stop, I thought this might be effective."

"Oh, I see." Shizuo seemed to understand and Mikado started flapping his lips again, unable to come up with something to say. He wanted to clear up the misunderstanding but didn't know if his words would even reach them.

"Ah, that's right. I should apologize for touching him first when he loves you. But since he's cute, you should be careful too, brother. Someone might steal him away from you." Actually, now that he thought about it, Kasuka had seen Mikado with Anri that afternoon so why had he not remembered that? It was probably a case of selective hearing, Mikado thought.

"You're right. Sorry." Shizuo apologized to Mikado, who wanted to say he just wanted to be let go and be free. However, instead of leaving it at that, Shizuo pressed his lips on top of Mikado and parted the lips of the younger boy with force. Having been caught by surprise, Mikado couldn't help but compare the kisses of the two brothers. One had been quick and the other much more intimate.

Kasuka watched the two and proceeded to untie Mikado. Once he saw Mikado returning the kiss, he nodded to himself and placed his hand on top of Mikado's lower half again. The teen had been caught by surprise and pulled away from Shizuo with an embarrassed look. However, he quickly closed his eyes and let out a soft moan that caused Shizuo to look down at Kasuka.

"What the hell are you doing?" Shizuo asked and Kasuka looked up before tilting his head to the side.

"I did warn you that Mikado-kun is cute. I thought I could help out." Kasuka explained and Mikado wondered if this was going to go somewhere even scarier that just rape. Even if he had responded to Shizuo, something that was very strange to him, he somehow doubted these two could share a single person.

"Thanks Kasuka." And then Mikado realized he was wrong. But he realized that against the two, there really was no chance of escape from this unharmed. His beacon of hope was utterly destroyed. Possibly since the moment Shizuo stepped into the room.

Without giving the teen more time to think, Shizuo consumed the teen's lips once more and Kasuka gave the lower half some hand service again. Not knowing what he should do, Mikado used his free hands to hold on to Shizuo for support. The older ex-bartender held one of the hands extended to him and with his free one, began unzipping the boy's jacket. Mikado jumped when he heard the rustling of Shizuo's hand going up his shirt and pulled back when he felt something wet coming from down below. Another moan escaped his lips and Shizuo covered them with his own mouth.

"Nnngh!" Mikado felt himself come again, this time inside something moist. He realized it was Kasuka's mouth and felt incredibly embarrassed about it. He didn't know what to say or if he should even apologize. It was kind of weird to apologize to your captor who is giving you lip service. However, Mikado felt arms around him and someone had lifted him up.

"The bed is over here brother." Kasuka led the way and Mikado froze up. He had definitely heard bed, which meant that everything was going to happen. But he was being cared for very gently so he had no idea what kind of words to use to stop them.

Shizuo placed Mikado on top of the bed and the teen noticed the cool feel to it before wondering if it was some sort of silk fabric. He felt the weight of Shizuo on the bed as well before he saw the silhouette of the tall man taking off his shirt. The only thing he had to go by were the bright light that had been placed on him in the beginning and the light that came from the open door. But then Kasuka closed the door.

"What are you doing?" Shizuo asked his younger brother who proceeded to turn off the bright light, darkening the room completely. "I can't see anything Kasuka!" Mikado was thankful and wondered if there was a way to get away unnoticed when curtains opened and the soft lights of the outside came in. Mikado saw the bare chest in front of him and tried covering his face.

"How cute." Kasuka repeated again and Mikado twitched. The actor was very near his ear. "But don't hide your face, Mikado-kun." He didn't sound like he was ordering Mikado but the teen still obeyed. Slowly, he lowered his hands to face them both. Kasuka nodded and got on the bed as well, above Mikado where he could take off the teen's jacket and shirt.

Startled by Kasuka's actions, Shizuo didn't fall behind and pulled down Mikado's pants and underpants to reveal a wet and slightly limp young dick. Mikado tried covering it with his hands and legs but the combination of both brothers rendered that useless. Shizuo had parted the legs and Kasuka had grabbed the hands. As Kasuka got closer to use his body as support for Mikado, he started playing with Mikado's nipples. Mikado felt weird but still managed to register the sound of a zipper coming undone. Shizuo brought his hard member towards Mikado and rubbed the two of them together. The moans of the teen were becoming louder and filled with lust that Shizuo couldn't help coming first.

"You should prepare his hole, brother." Kasuka suggested as he looked down on Mikado's currently dirty belly. He took some of the cum there with his hand and brought it closer to Mikado's mouth. The teen realized that since Kasuka still had the misconception of Mikado being in love with Shizuo, he most likely thought it was a good idea to bring the two closer by doing this sort of thing. Mikado obeyed again and licked the fingers. Shizuo's other half which had rested on top of Mikado's own was now hard again.

Very quickly, the fake blond turned over the teen and brought the hole to his face. He passed a finger through it and felt the twitching from it. Mikado, on the other hand, was trying hard not to fall flat when he felt something exploring the inside of his hole. His eyes were wide now and he saw something in the darkness, even with just the dim lighting of the outside. Kasuka was also hard. He had thought there was something pressing his back earlier but hadn't thought about Kasuka at all.

With a trembling hand, he opened Kasuka's pants, much to the surprise of both brothers. After all, Kasuka had been nothing but gentle with him, even if he had committed the heinous acts of kidnapping and was currently involved in a sort of rape. But Mikado wasn't thinking straight at the moment, he just wanted to ease the person who had not been touched the whole time. And so Mikado dove his mouth in.

"Sorry brother. I think Mikado-kun is kinder than I thought." Kasuka apologized as he felt good, even with Mikado's clumsy work.

"I'll forgive it because it's you, Kasuka." Shizuo nodded and resumed to licking Mikado's hole. Even though he felt good, the teen managed to keep his mind focused on giving pleasure to Kasuka. At the brink of coming again, Mikado tried to separate but was held down and soon had a shot of Kasuka in his mouth. He coughed but had still swallowed it, though some was dripping from the sides of his mouth.

"Thank you Mikado-kun." Kasuka wiped the excess and gave Mikado a full on kiss. The teen moaned and was startled when he felt Shizuo grabbing his dick.

"Kasuka, you get undressed too." Shizuo ordered and the younger brother obeyed. He took off only his shirt and lay down on the bed. Mikado was surprised by how scrawny the actor was, even though he was still bigger than him. "Mikado, can you rub yours and Kasuka's together?" The audacity of Shizuo's request blew Mikado's mind away. The brother complex seemed to go both ways for the two. And Mikado was literally caught in the middle.

"Y…yes, Shizuo-san…" Finally using his voice, the words that came out were nothing if not meek. And Mikado knew how he sounded. He was completely under their command. He got closer to Kasuka and began pumping both cocks with low gasps. Kasuka, in turn, got closer and kissed Mikado while playing with the nipples again. He could've sucked on them but he didn't want to trouble Mikado too much since that next act brought tears to the teen's eyes.

Shizuo plunged in and Mikado had tried to recoil in another direction but the two held him down in place. It hurt a lot but Kasuka helped Mikado's attention focus on the pleasure by continuing the kisses and caresses. But when Mikado had stopped in order to place his hands on Kasuka's shoulders for support, the actor continued the job Mikado had been given.

"Aaah… Nnnnh…" The teen's gasps were louder every time Kasuka separated from his mouth. Mikado could feel the thrusting becoming less painful and more pleasurable. Once he reached his critical point, Mikado became tighter and even Shizuo felt so good that the two came at the same time.

"Mikado…" Shizuo called out to the boy and brought him closer to him in order to give the teen a deep kiss. Mikado responded willingly this time and wrapped his arms around Shizuo's neck. Once they seemed to have enough, the two separated and looked over at Kasuka. "You okay Kasuka? I'll let you use the hole." Though the suggestion was incredibly generous, Mikado didn't feel anything out of the ordinary about it anymore.

"No. Mikado-kun is your lover. I wouldn't dare." Kasuka seemed adverse about doing something to hurt his brother's lover and they both looked at him with worry. Shizuo had an idea and turned Mikado around before plunging him down on him again. Mikado gasped as Shizuo grabbed his legs together and brought them up. Kasuka got the hint and awkwardly inserted his dick in between the legs. He placed the legs Shizuo held above his shoulders to give some support and began to move.

As Mikado was rocked, Shizuo supported him from below and helped the teen go up and down his member. The teen couldn't move much and held onto Kasuka's shoulder for support. He could feel Kasuka rubbing against his member very slightly and felt so good but he couldn't arrive at a climax because of his position. And he knew the two would need more time so all he could give them were loud moans of pleasure and a tighter squeeze.

"Mikado-kun, so good…" Kasuka was getting closer to his climax and Mikado knew Shizuo was as well by the way he was holding the teen.

"Mikado…!" Shizuo called out and Mikado felt the liquid again inside him, along with Kasuka's in his front. Both acts caused him to come with a loud voice and they nearly all fell one on top of the other but Kasuka held his ground and Shizuo made sure Mikado didn't fall.

"Brother, do you want a bath?" Kasuka asked calmly and Shizuo nodded. The oldest one in the room got up and gave Mikado a soft yet long kiss before heading out. "There are some clothes for you in the living room. I thought they might suit you."

Shizuo waved them and walked out of the room. Mikado and Kasuka fell on the bed before Kasuka pulled Mikado in closely to him. "Um… Kasuka-san…" Mikado called shyly since the other had asked for the younger to call him by his name, despite having been called by his stage name earlier. "Did you have all this planned from the beginning?"

"Oh, no. Those clothes were something I wanted to give brother but we'll have to find something else for you. Some of mine might fit you." Kasuka commented and felt Mikado turn to face him.

"And me?" Mikado asked an abstract question but Kasuka still answered him.

"Mikado-kun was cute and you still are. I honestly thought you and brother suited each other but I felt like making you mine instead. But brother is still important to me so I can't do that." The response was genuine, despite both the monotonous voice and the acts committed earlier. Of course, Mikado had no idea when it became consensual but he felt happy being so loved by two people he so suddenly got closer to in the course of just a few hours.

Mikado opened his mouth to say something but closed it again. He wanted to ask if Kasuka even remembered about how they first saw each other that afternoon. In those circumstances, there should have been no way for Kasuka to make the mistake, especially with the words he spoke. And yet, it was only a few hours later and he had changed his decision. Mikado couldn't help but wonder if he was running away into the arms of some other love in order to forget his own problems.

Just as Mikado's mood worsened, Kasuka lifted his hand and gave the boy a kiss. Surprised, Mikado didn't know what to do but Kasuka ended it quickly. "There are more bathrooms, Mikado-kun. Go take a bath while I look for something for you to wear." He ordered and Mikado nodded obediently but still hesitated leaving. He didn't even know where it was anyways. Kasuka understood this time and lead Mikado to the bathroom in that same room. He thought it odd Shizuo didn't use that one.

"Um… Thanks… Kasuka-san…" Mikado nodded to Kasuka and closed the door. He saw his face in the mirror and felt embarrassed about how red it was. 'That's right.' He realized everything he had just done and wanted to crawl into a hole to hide in. "Uhn!" He closed his eyes in surprise and felt all the cum that came from Shizuo falling down his leg. Immediately, he felt like fainting and got into the shower quickly to get himself cleaned.

Mikado's thoughts wandered around about what sort of stuff would happen now. Kasuka had labeled Shizuo and him as lovers. Shizuo didn't seem too adverse about it and his own body had replied in response to both Shizuo and Kasuka which made the whole thing confusing. Was he supposed to be one or both the brothers' lover? Did he even want that? And what was he supposed to tell his friends. 'Hello Sonohara-san, Masaomi! Guess what? I'm no longer a virgin! I had sex with both Heiwajima Shizuo and his brother, the actor Hanejima Yuuhei! Yeah, that'll go over so well with them.' Mikado smacked his head with the wall of the shower as he felt everything descend. 'Kasuka-san was nice… And Shizuo-san… He wasn't as scary as the other times I've seen him. I guess that's the thing that really hits close to my heart.'

Squirting out some soap, at least that's what he hoped it was, from its bottle, Mikado proceeded to clean himself. He felt weird cleaning his hole but knew everything needed to come out. The sounds that came out at the same time made him blush but he managed to finish quickly. There was a towel when he came out and he figured he could use it since it felt clean. However, he soon remembered he had no additional clothes aside from the ones lying on the floor of the room next door.

He sat down on the toilet seat and waited for a while. There were things he still had to think about so he figured he could do it now. How did he really feel about both brothers? It was all so confusing to him. Never in his life would he have imagined something like this could happen. He was supposed to choose one, right? After all, Kasuka himself had been mentioning over and over again how he and Shizuo suited each other, despite clearly showing interest in Mikado as well. And Mikado didn't seem to mind it that much. Kasuka had been nothing but gentle after all. Then again, Mikado seemed to be ignoring the most important thing. Kasuka had kidnapped him and had somehow managed to do some sort of rape to Mikado, along with Shizuo. Well, he had planned on ignoring the whole kidnapping thing and the rape, once again, did end up consensual. And then he remembered. He was happy about this whole thing.

"It's so simple." Mikado murmured since those were his thoughts. It was even more simple than the words he tried to convey that afternoon in front of the camera. Mikado was honestly just happy right now.

"Mikado? You okay?" Shizuo barged in by knocking the door down and effectively surprising Mikado. The teen covered himself with the towel and Shizuo looked away embarrassedly. Kasuka came inside and handed some clothes to Mikado before stripping in front of the two, who were caught by surprise. Immediately, Mikado ran off with the clothes and Shizuo tried putting the door back in place. "Sorry. I have no idea what got into Kasuka."

"Eh? Ah…" Mikado looked nervously at Shizuo and turned away to hide his blush. Shizuo tried to stop himself from looking at Mikado's behind and turned around as well. Once he knew Shizuo wasn't looking, Mikado put on what Kasuka gave him. For an actor as elegant as Kasuka, it was a simple jean pants and two shirts that were handed to Mikado. "Shizuo-san…um, about today…" There was something he wanted to say but the correct words didn't seem to appear.

"I'm sorry we were so forceful with you." Shizuo apologized and Mikado felt embarrassed by the embrace. But he didn't know why Shizuo needed to apologize. Well, maybe because of the sudden sex but beside that, Shizuo hadn't done anything wrong. Right?

Mikado turned around and brought Shizuo's face closer to him before landing a soft kiss on his lips. The whole misunderstanding thing was a secret Mikado was willing to take to his grave. After all, he was happy about being loved. Shizuo, on the other hand, was taken by surprise and hugged Mikado a bit tightly.

"Isn't that nice brother? Mikado-kun properly conveyed his feelings." Kasuka suddenly spoke up and Shizuo let go in surprise. Mikado felt a bit lonely not having that warmth and felt Kasuka pull him into an embrace. He was surprised by the act and looked up at the actor. "How nice. I want Mikado-kun too." The words surprised the teen and he felt nervous. What would happen if the two brothers began to fight over him?

"Hey, I didn't say I would hand him over to you in a platter, Kasuka. Just that we can come over every time you're free." Mikado looked up at Shizuo who had gotten closer to them. He didn't have to choose? Or he wasn't supposed to. Nothing made sense to Mikado, aside from the warmth of the two people surrounding him.

"Alright." He almost sounded disappointed by that but Kasuka still held onto Mikado. "You can come visit without brother if you wish so. Alright, Mikado-kun?"

"Oh! Uh… Alright." Mikado tried to hide his blush but felt lips on him again. It was Shizuo. He could tell even with his eyes closed. This might become more normal to him than he thought. Just like their thoughts on the whole sharing thing. It seemed like he was both their lovers, as embarrassing as that sounded.

"I'll take you home, Mikado." Shizuo said and Mikado nodded immediately.

"I'll go too. It's been a while since I've walked with brother." Kasuka said and Shizuo smiled at that.

Following the two, Mikado had just one thought. It's something silly he always wanted to do with a loved one but now he had two so he could possibly will himself to do it. "U-um!" He caught the attention of the two at the door and extended his hands. There was no way to help it, Mikado had to look down in order to hide his blush and quickly felt two hands grasping his owns.

"Let's go." They both said at the same time and Mikado nodded, stepping into their pace very quickly.

**End**

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Sissy: I wrote this… I wrote this at work. Giggling like a maniac (the grin would not leave my face) and eyeing my coworker in case he looked over my way. (He did at one point and was actually reading it! Thankfully, there was no pron at the moment. Phew!) Managed to finish it, despite how freaked out and embarrassed I felt while doing so (it just kept growing). I just wanted to write smut and there was this idea about the episode that I wanted to do so I mixed them. Well, it's okay, I liked it anyways.


	28. REQ: Star Bright

**Request:** Star Bright**  
Requester:** Celestial Reyvateil**  
By:** Sissy

**Pairing:** szmk**  
Warnings:** T!chapter. Regular!AU. Based on pixiv IDno 16690329 (per request). And "with lots of fluff!".**  
Personal Warning:** A bit of Dave "The Man" (yeah, only I call him that, lol) Strider (or both Striders at this point) came out of me a few times. It might be less fluffy thanks to him/them.

* * *

After months of knowing Shizuo, Mikado could safely conclude one important thing about the man.

That is, that the teen was at the top of his priorities. Shizuo was awkwardly cute like that.

Of course, coming from Kasuka, it was more of a statement than a comment.

So the obvious course was to ask for help from Shizuo's closest friends, which, obviously, weren't many to begin with. Kasuka was the first on the list. Tom came right after, though he wasn't able to provide much help. And lastly was Vorona, who proved to be utterly useless since she seemed more interesting in exploring Mikado's bodily aspects rather than helping. There was something seriously wrong with that woman, he just couldn't tell what.

In any case, Kasuka's suggestion was simple. So simple, Mikado had already decided on it a long time ago. Neither of the brothers knew that of course. It actually bothered him a lot. That was the only time he lied to Shizuo. Well, not exactly lied, just omitted the truth for grandstanding effects. And it hadn't helped that Shizuo beat him to such a thing, in a way.

Tom's suggestion was normal. Something Mikado already knew but decided to do anyways. It felt good. Of course, Vorona, after a long period of talking and holding onto Mikado like a teddy bear, suggested just as much as Tom did. Surprisingly, she paid a lot of attention to Shizuo. More like life details that seemed eerily creepy at some point. As if she was just a private detective on the hunt.

"Hey Mikado, you ready?" Shizuo asked once he got out of the bathroom. He wanted a bath before heading out. It wasn't like he was expecting something to happen, he just liked being clean after a day of work. And honestly, he was going out on a date with Mikado. There was no way he wasn't going to be at his best.

"Oh! Yes, of course!" Mikado, who had already taken his bath much earlier, was finishing his preparations. The food was all put away so there wasn't really anything more necessary. However, Mikado couldn't help but feel he was forgetting something important. He had everything, right? After all, Mikado had spent weeks in advance preparing for today.

"What are you doing?" Shizuo's voice came right in his ear, freezing Mikado. It tickled him every time Shizuo did such a thing but since he was lost in thought, he was caught off guard. "You're looking for this, right? Didn't you say it was the reason you were spending the night?" The taller man stepped back, showing the telescope he held in his hands. _Right_, Mikado remembered his true lie. Not the omitted truth, but the actual lie he told last week.

Normally, whenever Mikado wanted to spend the night, he would just tell Shizuo it was because he wanted to stay with him longer. But this time, he had to reserve Shizuo's time in advance. Of course, since he normally wouldn't lie to Shizuo, this plan made him nervous and he just said the first thing he thought of. And that lie turned into the current situation. One where Shizuo thought Mikado wanted a peaceful stargazing date.

"I was wondering where that was!" Mikado spoke quickly and gave Shizuo a hug. _Just for a little while longer, please forgive me Shizuo-san._ And with that thought in mind, Mikado separated from Shizuo to give him a bright smile. "Thank you, Shizuo-san!"

"It was nothing. You left it on the couch." Shizuo looked slightly embarrassed and resisted the urge to hug Mikado back. He wanted to control himself for a while, especially since he was going on a date with Mikado. "Shall we go?" He managed to breathe easily and smiled at the teen. The other replied with a nod and grabbed hold of Shizuo's hand before heading out.

Mikado's plan was simple. It even began with a simple thought. But Shizuo seemed to have the same though and got ahead of him that time. Mikado was both pleased and distraught by that fact. It was a conflicting feeling. That's why he hoped that tonight would finally be the night he could make it up to Shizuo. One thing he knew beforehand after all. Izaya was a relentless and annoying man so if tonight could make Shizuo happy for at least a full twenty-four hours, then part of his plan would be complete.

The only snag to Mikado's whole plan was the same Shinjuku informant but it didn't actually conflict with it so Mikado safely concluded this whole thing would work. And it would be worth it. At that, he had to stop himself from laughing too much; otherwise it might have aroused suspicion from Shizuo. And it almost did. The ex-bartender only eyed the teen curiously for a moment.

And while Mikado was lost in his thoughts, Shizuo decided to take a bit of initiative. He glanced around the empty neighborhood and saw no one so he took the chance to grab hold of Mikado's hand. The other was caught by surprise again and simply blushed before letting Shizuo entwine their fingers together. Just this simple act could elate Mikado so much.

It made the teen think again. The things that could make Shizuo happy were few but they were always enough. That's why he had to think extra hard for this. He didn't just want to make Shizuo happy. Mikado wouldn't be content until Shizuo headed to Heaven and came back, effectively scaring all of Ikebukuro from his Holy Spirit, thus causing only Mikado to be by his side. Well, maybe Kasuka as well.

Then again, Tom and Vorona would be there since they knew Shizuo pretty well. And who could forget Celty and Shinra, who feared nothing. Except aliens, in Celty's case. No one could ever get her fear of such unknown things out of her. Now that Mikado remember, why didn't he ask for Celty's advice as well? Even if the Dullahan was out on some vacation with Shinra, she regularly chatted with him online.

"Mikado." Shizuo caught the teen's attention and Mikado looked up. "We're here." He motioned to the school and Mikado nodded. Without waiting for a word from Mikado, Shizuo picked him up with one hand, after letting go of Mikado's hand, and jumped over the wall without a glance behind him. Mikado knew it would happen but was still caught by surprise. He had clutched the bag of food close to him and made sure he didn't fall by getting as close to Shizuo as possible.

Once they were on the other side, Shizuo didn't place Mikado on the floor and just kept walking towards the school. Mikado was embarrassed by the act but kept silent. He thanked whatever God there was that the next day was Sunday so there were no night guards during the evening. He researched it a bit beforehand and thanked his lucky stars at that moment in time. For that reason, Mikado suggested the roof of the school. It was pretty high up and not much was surrounding it so stargazing might be best there. Anri had said as much one time.

"The stairs…were this way." Shizuo murmured to himself and headed in the direction his memory reminded him of. True, he hadn't been there in a while but it wasn't as if he paid much attention to the structure of the school during his student days. Those were mainly spent fighting. How he wished he had met Mikado during that time. But he preferred now to no time at all.

The nightly breeze hit Mikado more strongly than before once they hit the roof. It was so desolate that it felt as if they had reserved the place to themselves. Shizuo smiled at the same thought and walked over to the grassy area, where he placed both Mikado and the telescope. Once he had that set up, Shizuo looked over to Mikado. The teen was cold, he realized as much when he saw Mikado shiver a bit. With a frown, Shizuo headed back to Mikado and unwrapped the scarf he had around his neck, placing it around Mikado's neck now.

"Shizuo-san!" The teen spoke quickly, surprised by the act. When he had seen Shizuo with it, he had felt happy because Mikado got him that for Christmas and it was meant for his use, not Mikado's. Shizuo simply smiled and shook his head. "But you'll be even colder!" At those words, Shizuo wrapped up Mikado up in an embrace.

"Not like this I won't be." His logic was his own and Mikado could never dispute with it. There was never any reason to, after all.

Mikado could only sigh and smile back. "Well, what shall we try to see first?" He asked and received a shrug so both decided to just try and see what looked interesting. Mikado mentally cursed himself for not thinking that far ahead. He hadn't even brought a star chart with him.

It was about a quarter to midnight when they got bored of looking through the telescope and trying to guess the constellations that the two sat down on the grass. Shizuo brought Mikado closer to him and hugged him from behind, looking pretty content with the date so far. Mikado knew as much. Shizuo just liked spending time with him. Which is why Mikado wanted to do this from the beginning. He realized making Shizuo happy gave him more happiness than anything combined.

As Shizuo nuzzled his cheek with Mikado's own, the teen froze at the cold touch. "You're freezing, Shizuo-san! Wait, wait! I brought hot chocolate!" He mentally thanked Vorona for teaching him a good recipe for sweet hot chocolate. Shizuo watched with interest as Mikado looked in his bag for a thermos and opened it. The sweet smell came out, as did the vapors.

"Smells nice." Shizuo commented calmly as he watched Mikado pour the liquid on the cap. After that, he was offered the hot nectar and he took it gladly. It tasted great and it warmed him from the inside. Of course, to Shizuo, nothing compared having Mikado in his arms but this was good enough for him at the moment.

Mikado glanced back and smiled at Shizuo's content face. He was glad Shizuo liked the hot chocolate and rested against the man's chest in order to wait. And since Shizuo didn't know Mikado was waiting, he thought the teen was simply enjoying the stars surrounding them. It truly felt as if they were the only ones in the world. And that made him nuzzle Mikado closer to him.

The minutes passed and the final hour came at last. Mikado and Shizuo, who had dozed off for a moment, were startled awake by the sound of Mikado's faint alarm. The teen immediately checked his cellphone and saw the hour, his face brightening up at the same time. He turned around to face Shizuo, who seemed confused, and tackled him with a hug. After nuzzling his head against Shizuo's chest and having the man hug him back, Mikado got up and finally spoke the words he'd been wanting to say the whole night.

"Happy birthday, Shizuo-san! Yes!"

Shizuo was the one caught off guard this time and he couldn't help but let out a chuckle. He had completely forgotten about his birthday. Bringing Mikado closer again, he placed a soft kiss on the teen. They separated after only a brief moment and watching Mikado's smile, he couldn't help but remember the word Mikado had spoken. The teen knew the man remembered the reason why he said it and was too happy to hold himself back so he gave the man another kiss, this time, only slightly deeper.

"You thought about it enough then?" Shizuo decided to ask after their second separation. Mikado pouted a bit before answering.

"Shizuo-san got ahead of me. I wanted to ask you that today but you had asked first." He answered and received a smile from Shizuo.

"So all this just to say that?" Mikado shook his head and sat up. He looked for the bag of food and brought out a small box. Shizuo watched as Mikado took out a small cake from that box. The design looked like it had been done by Kasuka so Shizuo surmised his brother and Mikado made it together. So silly, the two.

"I wanted to be the first to tell you 'happy birthday', Shizuo-san. There's no place else I'd rather be on your birthday than with you." Mikado said honestly and Shizuo brought Mikado close for another kiss.

Once he let go, Shizuo spoke. "You know that sounded as if I was handing out the present. But I feel the same. So I'll just ask again, do you want to come live with me?" It was just a faint whisper in his ear, but Mikado felt his stomach flipping in joy and he nodded in response. That was his 'yes', the one thing he wanted to say before but wasn't able to because of his plans. He wanted Shizuo to know that he'd always be with him.

"Oh. That felt like…a marriage proposal…" Mikado murmured, trying to hide his blush and Shizuo chuckled lightly, separating to see the cake.

"Thank you, Mikado. Shall we?" He motioned to the cake and Mikado nodded. It was just something simple he had done with Kasuka the day before, but the younger brother had sent off Mikado with a pleasant face that had hopes of good fortune. Shizuo could tell. Even Kasuka was happy with Mikado by Shizuo's side.

The cake was cut slowly and it was enjoyed by the two, though Mikado forced Shizuo to eat most of it. It was, after all, for the man. But Shizuo didn't mind that much. It just proved how much he was loved. And to him, that was the best present he could ever get.

**Soft End  
Now, wait for it…**

After months of dating Mikado, Shizuo could accurately conclude one important thing about the teen.

That is, that the man was at the top of his priorities. Mikado was adorably cute like that.

Of course, coming from Kasuka, it was more of a statement than a comment.

The first congratulations came from his brother. It was about both matters and Shizuo had no idea how he had found out before he even got a chance to tell him. A text from Celty and Shinra was next. They sent a regular congratulations from their vacation. Shinra ranted too much in the text that Shizuo felt like erasing it. Tom and Vorona said their congratulations at work. His sempai asked slyly if Shizuo got anything else aside from cake but the ex-bartender wasn't sure how to respond to that. The kouhai, on the other hand, stared at him for a while before asking if the poison in the hot chocolate worked its wonder, effectively scaring Shizuo. He was starting to believe Mikado but Tom laughed at him, warning Vorona not to keep calling 'love' a poison.

As expected, Izaya showed up to try and sour his day. Mikado, who was now in between Kasuka and Ruri, simply smiled at Shizuo and beckoned him back to the teen. Izaya was more than surprised Shizuo didn't follow him. "Why should I? I've got everything I need here." Was Shizuo's response, feeling Mikado heat up under him.

"Then, should I give you a honeymoon as a birthday present?" Kasuka had asked, causing Tom to spit out the coffee he had been brought. Vorona clapped in amazement while Ruri felt uncomfortable by Kasuka's suggestion. Izaya had been forgotten altogether now, deciding it better to just leave. No one was going to pay attention to him for the rest of the day.

Shizuo thought about it long and hard but looked down to see Mikado. At the sight of the happy teen, he decided to accept the present. It was like Mikado had said, as long as they could be together, then that was all that mattered.

"Great. Your bags are all packed. Here are your tickets." Kasuka immediately said, clapping his hands and handing some papers to the two. He hailed the car nearby and with the help of Vorona, since the other two were caught by surprise, pushed the pair inside. "Have fun."

Shizuo concluded that Kasuka also thought too much of the two. He truly loved seeing them both happy.

Coming from Vorona that would be a comment rather than a statement. Ruri knew Kasuka had her as his top priority always. That really scared her sometimes. If Kasuka cared that much about the pair, how high was she valued? But since he took out his happiness on the pair, it was better she was left alone. She'd have fainted by now.

But that was exactly the situation Mikado was in at that moment.

Yet Shizuo didn't mind. The teen would wake up when they got to the so-called honeymoon anyways.

**Extra End  
Yeah, that's it.**

* * *

Sissy: Happy Birthday Shizu-chan! Celestial Reyvateil-san, I hope this was as fluffy as you'd hope!


	29. Clap clap clap Clap Clap clap

**Title:** Clap clap clap. Clap. Clap Clap.  
**By:** Sissy

**Pairings:** mkcr + mrsrkr? + sziz? + wker? + ckms? + delpsy?  
**Warnings:** T!chapter. Based on this youtube video which I'll link to on my profile.

* * *

The smoke in the bar was vast and thick but no one inside seemed to mind. Thought the bar was like a little hole in the wall joint, it filled up quite nicely in the evenings. There was a stage at the very back of the bar with curtains and everything. Various tables composed the place and there was a darts board in a corner near the entrance and bar counter. One lone male teen played by himself, throwing medicinal needles instead of the actual darts.

"Kida-san, you'll poke someone's eye out like that." The female teen in the bunny suit spoke calmly as she placed the tray of empty glasses on the bar counter.

"No worries, Anri-sama! I'm actually pretty good at this!" The young Masaomi Kida spoke in his defense but still measured the distance he was going to throw the needle to. And just as he finished, he threw but missed. The needle kept going towards the stairs just as someone came down. Anyone else would have been scared, but the person in the brown coat didn't seem at all fazed by the needle she caught in her hands. "Whoops! Looks like today's one of those days!"

"Are you alright, Celty-dono?" Miss Anri Sonohara asked without batting an eyelash.

"…" Lady Celty Sturluson nodded without words, passing the needle back to its owner just as she stepped towards the bar. The helmet on her supposed head was taken off to reveal the impossible, yet no one seemed to be surprised. It was actually weirder to see her with those goggles around her neck but they knew them to be a necessary accessory.

As soon as Lady Sturluson sat down on the counter, next to the young Masaomi, another woman approached her. "Speak, what does King want now?" She seemed to have an imposing air around her seeing as Miss Sonohara stepped away quickly and the young Masaomi sat upright but to Lady Sturluson, this was just another everyday person.

Without an obvious word, Lady Sturluson handed the woman an envelope then motioned Miss Sonohara to return. Once the woman took the envelope and turned away, Miss Sonohara came back. "The lunch special? Wouldn't it be easier to inform that member to pick it up himself?" Lady Sturluson immediately waved her hand in a 'no' motion to respond.

While Miss Sonohara headed to the back to ask for Lady Sturluson's order, there seemed to start a ruckus upstairs on the outside of the bar. Loyal Kida clicked his tongue and saw a man quickly descend with almost a skip in his step. "Ooh! Oh! Oooh! Well, hello Celty-kun! And which is it over here, Kida-san or Masaomi-chan?" He asked while grinning towards Loyal Kida.

"What the fuck do you want now, Orihara?" Loyal Kida was dissatisfied by Truant Izaya Orihara's presence but was unable to boot him out. The man was already inside after all.

"Ah, so it's Kida-san. Now, now, I've come with interesting news after all." He widened his smile as Miss Sonohara returned once again, this time with a brown bag in her hands. "Well, it seems like the old man in block B is deciding to sell his place. Wasn't your Boss and King fighting themselves over that piece of territory? And this is a bit on the down low but it seems like a third faction might be planning on buying it under everyone's noses. Scary how much people will fight over a piece of bone!" He turned his attention to each of the three around him, ending with a stare to Miss Sonohara.

Lady Sturluson brought out her handy PDA and typed in the following words to Miss Sonohara. "Thank you for the food. I'll pass by again if needed." With that, she placed her helmet back in place and left the bar. Truant Orihara pouted at everyone's uninteresting reactions but continued his talk. "Word has it this same third faction is offing the oldest geezers in town."

"All you bring is useless information, Izaya-sama. Why did you even come here?" Miss Sonohara asked with a deep stare. She was like emotionless doll at times like these.

"He's here to see the Boss." The woman from before came out to the floor again, the same threatening air around her intact. "You're early Izaya."

"Of course, Namie-sama! The earlier, the better!" His smile was directed at Madam Namie Yagiri but his eyes seemed to be focused elsewhere. It was as if he was scanning the room or interpreting his surroundings and the people in them. For that reason, Loyal Kida kept his eye on Truant Orihara. The man could not be trusted.

However, Madam Yagiri could care less and it was Miss Sonohara's job to be elsewhere so the girl moved away again. And while this happened down at the bar, upstairs Lady Sturluson waved goodbye to the blond bouncer. The man waved in return and took his cigarette to breathe out softly. With that, Lady Sturluson jumped on her motorcycle and rode off without any sort of glance to the surroundings.

"Ah, Shizuo-niisan." The soft voice called out to Beast Shizuo Heiwajima, who turned to face the twin girls walking calmly towards him. It wasn't a surprise to see them but the man behind them with the calm look caught him off guard. "You see, the Boss was accompanying us! He bought us a bunch of clothes for our shows!" The other twin explained joyfully and turned to the famous Boss Shinra Kishitani.

"I just wanted you both to look at your best for when you sing." Boss Kishitani explained softly, smiling gently at the two. "Now, Shizuo-kun, has my guest arrived?" He asked Beast Heiwajima with the same tone as when addressing the twins that it placed the blond on the edge.

"He did, Boss. Yagiri is probably entertaining him. And also, Celty passed by." He explained the current events that had transpired just in the last ten minutes, earning a nod from his boss.

"Then, Kururi-chan, Mairu-chan, will you both please prepare for tonight's show?" He asked the twins and both Left Kururi Orihara and Right Mairu Orihara nodded in unison before descending the stairs. But before they left the presence of the two males, they turned around to face them. "By the by, I think a present should arrive shortly for you, Boss. As thanks for everything, you know."

And with a wink from each girl, they were gone from their sights. "Any idea what that was about, Boss?"

"Oh, I have a few." Boss Kishitani chuckled lightly and finally asked what needed to be asked. "I know Celty-kun probably came for that reason, but have you heard anything about King?"

Beast Heiwajima shook his head embarrassedly, "Kuronuma isn't opening his mouth. Whoever that so-called Prophet is, they're not saying." It hurt his pride since it was the job given to him by Boss Kishitani yet he hadn't been able to deliver anything conclusive.

"Well, I'm sure King is also thinking about how to use you. He just hasn't made his move yet." With a soft sigh and a shake of his head, Boss Kishitani headed into the bar. Dejectedly, Beast Heiwajima could only continue to smoke his cigarette until it was done. He never knew, none of them knew possibly, of the pair of lightish red eyes looking down on them.

The man stared down at the city but he wasn't watching the buildings. His finger moved in a certain rhythm while he collected information the only way he could now. Tap, tap, tap. Tap. Tap, tap. It was flawless but it wasn't his. He no longer had a rhythm to call his own. "The greater advancement of this plan relies more on those who wish to be a part of it. Given the conditions, it's imperative you join forces. There's no use, it's impossible. A flaw? Of course, the deaths were important; they're purposely created."

"Hey, what the fuck are you doing you bastard?" Another came up behind him, cigarette in mouth. Both were wearing large headphones connected to different devices. It was a necessary device for them. "What you're doing is outside the scope of interference. We agreed to only help that idiot for a while." He reminded the other but the one on the floor did not cease. Of course, the second man knew that would happen. The idiot got broken on the way so he was more useless to him now than before.

"Do you wish to see it, Delic?" The first turned around with a wide grin in place. His eyes were focused elsewhere and the other knew exactly where. Destroyer Delic stepped forward and bent down to the first's eye level. He grabbed the first by the back of his head and breathed out. "Psyche, listen to me. Sleep." With that order, Madman Psyche dropped to the floor unconscious.

As Destroyer Delic picked up Madman Psyche from the floor, he checked the remnants of Madman Psyche's connection. He clicked his tongue and took the male to bed for rest. If he didn't recover, they'd be forced to stay longer amongst the annoyances. And he truly didn't wish for that.

"And what are you looking at, Anri-chan?" Truant Orihara stared at the shy Anri hours later as they walked along the streets. He was accompanying the girl on her errand but the other had stopped hearing him for a while now. She stared at the sky, almost longingly. "Ooi, Anri-chan."

With a startled blink, the shy Anri turned around to face Truant Orihara. "Oh, I apologize Orihara-dono. I was talking to someone. A friend, but it seems the lag caught up with us. The interference was there again." Truant Orihara simply pouted since he never understood that side of her. He was simply doing an odd job at the moment since it was beneficial to him.

"Oh, fine. Are you sure they were around here?" He asked and received a nod from her. "At least, that was what I was told." The shy Anri looked only a tiny bit worried but noticed something in the distance.

"I'd appreciate getting what I want, Kyohei." One man threatened the other while pointing at him.

"Again? Don't you give up, Chikage?" Knight Kyohei Kadota asked with a sigh as he stood between Rogue Chikage Rokujou and the two acquaintances behind him. It was his job to protect them so he wasn't about to let Rogue Rokujou have his way with them. Of course, since Rogue Rokujou truly wanted the interaction, he began his fight with Knight Kadota.

"Excuse us, Karisawa-sama, Yumasaki-dono." The shy Anri approached the two, taking the chance that Knight Kadota was busy. Both Kryptos Walker Yumasaki and Confidante Erika Karisawa turned towards the two and smiled brightly.

"Well, well! Come for another try?" Confidante Karisawa asked them both with a wide grin on her face.

The shy Anri shook her head and approached Confidante Karisawa to murmur something in her ear. "Tomorrow night, at the stroke of eleven at night. If it's the best moment, please appear." The older woman nodded and the shy Anri sighed gladly. If the message could be sent and reciprocated correctly, it would be great. She had already tried so many times before.

"As for me, can I have the location? I have things to speak to King about." Truant Orihara asked nicely and the two looked to be in thought. Suddenly, Kryptos Yumasaki received a message and he brought out his cellphone to read it. With a nod, he turned to Truant Orihara. "I'll send you the location before your meeting time with him. King has asked me to relay that."

"Aw, he's such a sweetheart, isn't he?" Confidante Karisawa grinned and grabbed hold of Kryptos Yumasaki's arm as they stared at Truant Orihara. "Be careful you're not bitten, Izaya-sama."

"I'll take that in mind." Truant Orihara gave them a smirk and left with the shy Anri once more. For the time being, their job was done. But although both were excited, they could not have known about the events that would transcribe that following evening.

The lone cellphone had been dropped to the floor. The teen in front of it was shocked at both the phone and the group of people in front of him. The young Masaomi had no words for this and the shy Anri decided to not express her dissatisfaction at it. Somewhere in her mind, she had a feeling it might happen. And the one man out of place laughed as he took off his mask. It was Truant Orihara, making fun of the teen in front of the dropped cellphone. Yet he failed to notice when blood had been drawn and when the loudest form of the teen took over, a smile in place. It had been part of his plan.

"Is that it? Those are the conditions, Prophet?" He asked the person with the bucket over his head. That person nodded in response and the other teen who seemed bored decided to just lie back against the wall. There was a mixture of dissatisfaction and anger on his face.

"Honestly, I'd prefer it if these plans had better flair. You want me to send another message?" The second teen asked but the other shook his head. He stared off somewhere, deep in thought. Suddenly, he nodded to himself.

Turning back to the Prophet, he asked. "Is the subject still the same?" It nodded in response and he nodded again. "Alright. Aoba-kun, we'll do as Prophet says. The treaty will happen soon so we'll be able to announce you then. In the meantime, I will go visit Celty-kun." He spoke to Advisor Aoba Kuronuma, who sighed deeply.

"Again, King? You're giving Mikado-chan and that Celty way too much attention." Advisor Kuronuma felt somewhat jealous, though he knew exactly what King Mikado Ryugamine would answer back. It was always the same because they both had conceded to the plan once it was finally formulated.

"Do remember it, Aoba-kun. It's necessary if you want to keep talking to me." Though he knew it, that fact still managed to irk him. King Ryugamine was intent on seeing his plan through. Sighing to himself once his leader was gone, he stood up and stared at the empty spot where Prophet had been just earlier. It was always the same. Prophet never stayed with them for too long. Izaya always found it funny whenever he managed to squeeze himself into these lonesome meetings. "Don't you get the feeling he's the one playing with us?" But it wasn't as if any of the three cared.

King Ryugamine mingled with the crowd towards his next meeting, knowing full well Truant Orihara had already given up on meeting him that night. Little did he know King Ryugamine needed to speak to him in order to set the wheels in motion for the next evening's plan. With a slow motion, he approached two people who had been waiting for a third themselves. "Normally, I ask Yumasaki-dono for this, but if it will please that one, I don't mind doing this way." The two were confused by his words and saw King Ryugamine bent down to give them a message. "Please advise Shizuo that he'll get to send the message he wants soon. I do need one thing before that."

As soon as he gave the two the message, he disappeared into the crowd. Beast Heiwajima came soon after he was gone and greeted the two waiting for him. "Sorry I'm late, Tom, Vorona." He apologized to both Tamer Tom Tanaka and Unknown Vorona with a smile. The two were very loyal to him and seemed hesitant to speak of the message. But they knew where his loyalties hid and where theirs were so they relayed the message. "Who's going to die?" He wondered and was given no answer.

However, one person did die yet it wasn't the one intended at the moment. "Sorry it took so long, Mikado. He was running away." The message was plastered in his face by the nervous woman yet the childlike Mikado didn't mind in the slightest. His date with the woman was more important and he treasure every minute spent with her.

"If this is how you act in broad daylight, I'd hate to see what you do at night." Boss Kishitani approached the two with a smile, accompanied by the Center Oriharas who seemed content singing to themselves. The childlike Mikado pouted in response and was grabbed hold of by Lady Sturluson. "Please be at ease, I'm only doing rounds right now. Namie-sama was acting a bit too strict at the moment. She's worried about this month's expenses, given the meeting tomorrow. Anri-chan tells me you'll be meeting tonight?"

"That's what Ryugamine-sama says but he won't tell me what the meeting's about. It's just like the secret he and Aoba-sama are keeping. They say it's for my sake but…" The childlike Mikado seemed sad and was hugged by Lady Sturluson in return. The woman seemed ready to give it her all to protect the one in front of her as well, knowing full well how the person they talked about felt.

"I'm sure they feel that way and I won't deny that that's their plan. I just hope it won't backfire. Izaya-sama's sources seemed to indicate a flaw, most likely planned by their boss." With that, Boss Kishitani and the Center Orihara's retreated for the moment. They had no way of stopping the meeting from happening and Boss Kishitani wasn't interested in stopping it in any case.

Lady Sturluson seemed relieved at their retreat and froze when she felt lips on her bare chest. King Ryugamine looked up at her with a smile. "I'll be expecting you to do your job tonight, Celty-kun. This is for the sake of the one that loves you unconditionally." A nod came in response to his request and he smirked, knowing full well that nothing, absolutely nothing, was going to impede his plan. Not even Truant Orihara's tiresome meddling.

So when the act was finished, nothing remained but King Ryugamine in the full extent of himself. "I wish you had let us help." The shy Anri spoke to herself once she saw King Ryugamine pick up the phone. In front of her, the young Masaomi still had no words to speak. "Hey, hey… Don't speak out of line. It was a bet after all." Advisor Kuronuma spoke calmly, kicking the corpse on the ground.

"What do you think is going to happen now? A happy ending? There's no such thing for the quiet and the loud. You'll go mad and die. And what the hell do you plan on doing with this?" Rogue Rokujou spoke once he entered the building. Loyal Kida went over to him, needles in hand, ready to attack. Once the two calmed down, Loyal Kida headed over to King Ryugamine. "If he's happy, I don't care what the outcome is. This is better for us anyways. No one's managed to do it before."

Rogue Rokujou ruffled his hair and picked up the hat that had fallen to the floor. "I'll say it again. You'll go mad and die. You can't coexist. No one's made it after a year. I was trying to stop you without saying anything to those who trust you, King." He heard King Ryugamine and Advisor Kuronuma laugh. Loyal Kida, the shy Anri and the rest were very confused.

"This is what the meeting tomorrow is about, you know. It isn't just the fact that Shinra-dono and I will sign a peace treaty in the location everyone bought for us. Aoba-kun is to be introduced as an adult to everyone else. How long do you think I've been calling him Aoba-kun for?" His smirk turned into a grin and the rest were shocked about the meaning behind it.

"So you already succeeded with the experiment? How inhuman." Rogue Rokujou clicked his tongue in disappointment. He hadn't expected that from the beginning but Advisor Kuronuma spoke in his own defense. "Actually, I was the one who came up with it. I couldn't allow King to be depressed forever. His fascination with Mikado-chan was too much and he couldn't allow himself to die so this was the only thing I could do for both."

"And I was the one who answered their request." Prophet came down after watching the whole scene. He kicked the corpse to see Truant Orihara's white gaze staring up at him. This was the first time any of the others heard Prophet's voice or even the mysterious person himself. Rogue Rokujou realized what had happened and cursed himself. "Of course, for their request to be completed, they needed to answer mine." He laughed, taking off his bucket to reveal the face underneath.

"Hachimenroppi-ue, you know you'll no longer be called by your old name, right?" King Ryugamine asked Prophet and saw the other frown in response. "Are you asking the ones here to remember me in this form before I take away everything that was Orihara Izaya?" A nod was received in response and Prophet sighed. Everything was for the sake of getting what he wanted so he pardoned King Ryugamine for what he had just done.

Rogue Rokujou headed over to Prophet and kneeled down. "I'll follow you anywhere, my lord. I just wish it hadn't come to this." After giving his loyalty to Prophet, Rogue Rokujou picked up the corpse of Truant Orihara and followed Prophet out of the warehouse. Loyal Kida breathed a sigh of relief and walked over to Miss Sonohara, the two ready to give their report to Boss Kishitani. They knew they'd skip a lot of details since King Ryugamine was to divulge them himself the next day.

"Thank you, Celty. All of you worked very hard for this, didn't you?" King Ryugamine asked Lady Sturluson very tiredly and saw the woman nod in response. Advisor Kuronuma called the meeting to an end and dispersed the members around them. For the time being, Advisor Kuronuma knew King Ryugamine would need to rest. The sudden change would be a little too much for him. That's how they failed to know until later, the things Beast Heiwajima saw.

Prophet had suggested they cover Truant Orihara's face for the moment and they had been walking quietly when Beast Heiwajima crossed their paths. Unknown Vorona glanced back at Tamer Tanaka in fear something would happen. It did of course since all Beast Heiwajima could notice was the face of Prophet. Rogue Rokujou did nothing to stop the fight, noticing how Prophet was enamored by Beast Heiwajima's movements. He realized that a fair competition between Prophet and Truant Orihara would not work so he had enlisted the help of King to make what was happening now actually happen. Rogue Rokujou sighed as he realized his boss was simply awkward with his actions.

Never did Beast Heiwajima find out the truth. Not until some years later was it muttered by Prophet himself to the man.

"I had a feeling. The twins were pretty much giving me hints the whole time. I guess your people and mine really wanted us to get along." Boss Kishitani laughed at the meeting, though Madam Yagiri found nothing funny about it. On the other side of the table, King Ryugamine smiled kindly to him. "I'm glad you find this good. I was worried you might say no. Prophet, no, Orihara-sama kept reminding me it would be okay though."

"I'm quite thankful, Ryugamine-kun. Though you can stop calling me Prophet now. I can go back to my work now that you've both signed this treaty." Prophet laughed, though no one else accompanied him. With the treaty signed, King Ryugamine spoke about his experiment to Boss Kishitani, leaving the other impressed.

"Well, if you survive the year, there will be more to celebrate. I expect good things from now on, King. Though I am saddened about a few results." He glanced over to Prophet, though how much he knew the others weren't sure. "Rokujou-kun, I hope you'll be kind to Masaomi-chan. I know that's the reason why Kida-san hates you very much." The man blushed, not realizing such a thing and heard Prophet hide his laugh.

"Then, since that's everything. I now have a date, so I'll excuse myself." King Ryugamine smiled brightly and exited the building with the rest to meet his beloved Lady Sturluson. The three guardians of his location seemed excited by the outcome of the treaty, as were the officers of Boss Kishitani. The liaison group to the two factions was content, though Beast Heiwajima seemed ready to attack Prophet again.

As King Ryugamine and Lady Sturluson rode off, no one else seemed to notice the content look on King's face for being able to be by the side of the one he sought, except the owner of the pair of lightish red eyes who knocked his finger to the beat of King's romance. Tap tap tap. Tap. Tap tap.

**End**

* * *

Sissy: Wow, so…this was random. When I saw the vid I found it completely interesting. Originally I was tentative between having Prophet really be Celty or Izaya but went with Roppi instead and had him be somewhat attracted to Shizuo. There's a whole explanation to the two sides of some characters (quiet and loud) and there was actually a subplot in that meeting that originally was supposed to do with keeping all the young ones from meeting. I can explain about the personality issues though it might be somewhat confusing. And the fact that I presented the characters with first name, last name was completely on purpose. Hope you all enjoyed it nonetheless!


	30. REQ: Blood Red

**Request:** Blood Red  
**Requester:** Celestial Reyvateil  
**By:** Sissy

**Pairing:** szmkiz + ksrr + srcr  
**Warnings:** M!chapter. Supernatural!AU. Violence? Possessive semes (per request).

* * *

The wind howled in the distance yet no one noticed it. In the dead of night, only the bright full moon saw all. Everyone else simply slept through everything. Silently, a pair of eyes stared down from the shadows at the insignificant walking form of the young Ryugamine Mikado. He was headed back to his apartment after picking up some milk at the nearby convenience store. The lonely road to his home didn't scare him at all as the teen was already used to it. However, somewhere in the recesses of his heart, he hoped something would happen in his everyday mundane life.

It became obvious that something granted his wish. The young Ryugamine Mikado might've regretted such a wish later on. Only the bright full moon saw the silent wish come true. The darkness had enveloped him and left just the spilt carton of milk on the floor.

A glass cup had fallen to the floor at the very moment the young Ryugamine Mikado was spirited away. With a startled jump, Heiwajima Kasuka came out of his room and searched for the sound's origin. He found his beloved Hijiribe Ruri cowering in a corner of the kitchen floor. "What is it, Ruri-san?" He asked, kneeling down beside her but saw her shake her head. Whatever it was that she knew or had felt, left her scared and unwilling to leave the apartment for the next five days.

It was during those five days that Kida Masaomi and Sonohara Anri knew something had happened to their best friend. Anri attributed it to Saika having a sudden surge of joy during the night but only realized the significance when Mikado had been out of school for far too long. The teachers had no way of knowing what happened since there was no call to them and Masaomi led the excursion to Mikado's tiny apartment on the third day. From then on, they visited two more times on different days before coming up with the same solution.

[I don't know.] Was Celty Sturluson's reply to their distress. With that, the two friends had no knowledge of what to do next. However, the Celtic fairy gave them an idea. One that they had thought about but had been hesitant about in the beginning. Yet both teens knew very well that they needed to find their friend so they finally agreed to do as Celty suggested.

Back on the streets, Celty had first planned on heading to the location she knew well but turned the other way around towards the sounds of chaos and mayhem. Masaomi and Anri had looked nervous and worried but knew what they were about to face. In the sea of fear stood Orihara Izaya and Heiwajima Shizuo; ready to duke it out once more. They had already destroyed more than half the town with their petty disputes and anyone who came near such a scene was completely nuts, but both Masaomi and Anri knew this to be necessary.

A swish of a knife and the hunt was on again but before it could escalate, the Celtic fairy stood in between the two. [This is urgent!] She showed one message to Shizuo and another to Izaya. [We have to know!] The two monsters were confused by the necessity of Celty's meddling but knew that if she had intervened it must've been something really important. Neither Izaya nor Shizuo cared in the beginning though. That changed the moment Masaomi opened his mouth, "I don't care how much you charge me, just tell me where Mikado is!"

The two beasts stopped in their tracks and turned towards the teens. With an equal stride and expression, they marched forwards and got so close to Masaomi that they invaded his personal space. "What do you mean by that? You don't know where Mikado/-kun is?" The surprising unified pair of voices scared Masaomi into taking a step back. Before they could take another step forward, Celty came in between them. [You don't know?] It was meant for the informant but both men shook their heads in response.

Despair engulfed the teens and they glanced at each other worriedly. Their faces had paled and were about ready to give up when a car pulled over towards them. Kasuka's face appeared for everyone and he urged the rest to climb aboard. All of them had been confused as to his request but agreed at his words, "It has to do with someone that is missing." Masaomi and Anri were the first to comply as they were the nearest to the car's entrance. Shizuo and Izaya had a hard time agreeing on who would climb in after the two teens but eventually were inside as well. Celty agreed to follow them on her bike and Kasuka left the window open for her to hear part of the conversation.

On the inside, Kasuka sat next to the trembling form of Ruri, who had only come out thanks to Kasuka and was held by him for support. "How do you know about Mikado-kun being gone?" Izaya was the first to ask, eyeing how Ruri twitched in response. She was truly afraid at the moment.

However, Kasuka held her close and spoke for her. "Ruri-san found out and I just recently got her to tell me. She's very afraid of this person so I'll ask you to do what you can without her. I can only bring you to the location." He explained but had left the rest confused. All anyone understood was, "Mikado was taken by someone who Ruri is afraid of. We'll take you to where he's being kept." Shizuo looked about ready to explode when Kasuka lifted his hand with a 'stop' motion. "Ruri-san says it's the King. I don't know anything else and I will not let you bully her into telling you." He seemed serious enough so Shizuo let it go for the moment.

The scenery around them changed from the city to the countryside and the car kept going until it reached a forest. Both teens seemed worried for a moment, not just because they didn't know where they were headed, but because the two monsters next to them seemed to be getting angrier by the second. Their only consolation was that Celty was outside.

When the car came to a screeching halt, everyone inside was caught by surprise. Shizuo was the first to explode but Kasuka took care of it by simply saying, "We're here."

"Where the hell is here?" Both blonds ended up asking at the same time, a look of confusion on one and irritation on the other. Anri couldn't help but feel flustered and Celty calmed her down by placing a hand on her shoulder. Izaya found it quite amusing, though he was burning up on the inside too. Kasuka and Ruri stood right behind them all. It was Kasuka's plan in order to ease his beloved's suffering, though no one else seemed privy to it. Ruri understood though, and sometimes felt him to be scarier than anything else.

"Well, Shizu-chan. Why don't you use that brute strength you adore so much and break the gate?" Izaya suggested first with no qualms, clearly making fun of the taller blond. Masaomi quickly took a few steps back with Anri and Celty in tow. Kasuka and Ruri were on safe distance from the beginning.

"You wanna say that again, you flea?!" He roared in return and without having done anything, the gates in front of them all had opened. The rational three noted that it was more like they fell from fright rather than open in response. Izaya laughed and, with a skip in his step, headed in first. Shizuo followed right beside him, muttering curses in his direction. Celty kept her thoughts to herself, wondering why they had yet begun to kill anything in sight but simply had one person come to mind and realized why.

Masaomi and Anri kept an eye out for anything while Kasuka calmly held Ruri close to him by the shoulders, as if protecting her with just that. And although the scenery around them seemed scary, not one of them had run away. Whatever kind of freak held Mikado would soon be killed, thought Masaomi, whether or not he was here.

Not five minutes in, a horde of unknown people had the group surrounded. They seemed displeased by the trespassing and had first asked for whoever broke the front gate. Shizuo gladly complied with their request but not without asking his question first. "Where the hell are you keeping Mikado?" An echo of snickers was their reply. The low grumble could be heard by the teens, who kept quiet about how Shizuo would soon go on a rampage.

"Would you all be so kind as to tell us if someone named Ryugamine Mikado is here?" Izaya asked with a polite smile, sending shivers through the rest's back. The three behind the monster duo wondered, how pissed was Izaya to be able to send such icy words through politeness? The horde responded in whispers, speaking of a pet, the King, such fools plus many other things that sounded repetitive. "So he is here then. I hope you've prepared yourselves for making me angry. Go Shizu-chan!" Izaya commanded with no problem, earning a glare from the ex-bartender on his left.

The horde felt insulted that they weren't being taken seriously and began the attack first. The rest decided to sit it out while Shizuo took care of the whole horde. You really shouldn't underestimate Shizuo, was their one united thought. "Now where the hell are you keeping Mikado?" He threatened one of them and Ruri bravely stood up to point forwards. Kasuka proudly pet her head and soon enough, the group was following Ruri.

"I apologize for my previous behavior. To speak truthfully, I'm still a bit frightened. But Yuuhei-san is certain you're stronger than the King so I shall believe as well." Ruri spoke softly to Shizuo, awkwardly clinging close to Kasuka for moral support. Shizuo didn't respond with words and simply grunted as a reply. Izaya was holding in his laughter at the whole scene while the rest at the back were simply curious why the forest wasn't in flames yet.

At the foot of the tall and old-looking castle, Masaomi was the first to comment. "I wouldn't be surprised if Dracula lived here." It was him musing to try and relax himself but Ruri still twitched in response. The rest didn't miss it and Shizuo was the first to kick the doors open. It wasn't that hard for him to do so. The inside smelled thick in humidity and both teens scratched their noses in response.

"WHERE'S MIKADO?!" Shizuo cried out, similar to how he called after Izaya when chasing him. The anger and low patience is clear in his voice. Bats fly off in surprise and Masaomi squeals for a second, quickly placing his hand on his mouth. Izaya doesn't miss it and hides his scoff. Another horde comes out from the shadows and Shizuo completely looses it. He doesn't want to handle small fry anymore.

With a quick swoop, Celty casts her shadow towards the horde to render them immobile before Shizuo has the chance to rip the closest column and do the same himself. Masaomi and Anri are impressed but Izaya takes the floor next, gazing at Ruri. "Will you lead us?" He asks, sounding polite and leaving the rest confused. Ruri nods and they head up the stairs.

In the distance, Celty is the first to notice the figure standing dead ahead. She runs towards him first but her beloved, Kishitani Shinra, doesn't reply quickly. [Where have you been?! I thought you were working!] Nothing seems to get him to recognize Celty's presence. Slowly, his lips move and he speaks. "The King is waiting. I have a patient to bandage."

The doors open and the two figures at the end give the rest a surprise. Indeed, Mikado was there, just as they had thought and were told. But both monsters didn't seem pleased at all by the image in front of them. Masaomi and Anri run towards their best friend but are quickly held back by both Ruri and Kasuka. "It will be dangerous to continue without a plan." Kasuka suggests but the two men don't hear him at all. They dash forwards with the intent to kill, followed by Celty, who simply wishes to take Mikado away from that place.

"Celty!" Shinra's voice causes her to realize the darkness heading her way from the side and very soon, she's pushed down by Shinra. "That was dangerous! I was hoping you wouldn't do that until Shizuo-kun and Izaya-kun were fighting the King!" He pouted, causing Celty to realize Shinra had been faking earlier in order to proceed with whatever plan he had. However, she still feels pained and smacks him over the head in retaliation. Shinra merely accepts the hit with a smile, not blaming her feelings.

Masaomi and Anri notice Mikado's lips move, as if trying to speak to them. But it looks so slurred that they have no idea what he wants to say. It just makes them want to head in towards the fight as well, but the clashing of the two beasts against the so-called King commence and it only takes five minutes before the two take a supreme victory. The rest feel utterly helpless and extremely useless at that realization. Kasuka is the first to break the ice. "I told you, Ruri-san. All we had to do was leave it to brother and Orihara-san." Ruri nods happily and the two teens in front realize how frightening the star really is.

"I should explain, really." Shinra speaks from Celty's side. "Apparently, Mikado's blood is extremely tasty to the King so he had him kidnapped. And well, he couldn't let the boy die so easily on him since Mikado-kun was to be…uh…his concubine…" He awaited the response but finished quickly by speaking to Celty instead. "So you see, Celty, he also kidnapped me to take care of Mikado-kun. He actually thought I was hypnotized but that's impossible! So I figured I'd wait this out until Shizuo-kun and-or Izaya-kun came for Mikado-kun. I'm actually surprised it took anyone this long to come and get us."

[Why didn't you call me?!] Celty's response to his explanation proved to be more heartwarming than Shinra imagined. However, her beloved pouted in response to that. "I was being watched! Besides, I didn't want to die if it wasn't in your arms and, honestly, I kinda had responsibility towards Mikado-kun." At his words, Celty brought Shinra closer to her but saw the shadows above them.

"Did you just say 'concubine'?" They muttered at the same time, the hatred showing in their gaze. Shinra flapped his lips in confusion and noticed the two teens run towards their friend with a worried look. "We should probably get Mikado-kun some water. Celty, come with me!" With that, he quickly left the room with Celty in search for some of the mentioned water.

Mikado had started crying, possibly out of joy and his friends shared his feelings. The sound of his sniffles brought the attention of the two beasts and they turned around to face the scene. Very quickly, they stomped towards the group and pulled out the two friends to see if Mikado was truly alright. Though he hadn't stopped when the two males arrived, he did the moment Shizuo ripped open his shirt. Both Masaomi and Anri were in shock as they watched Izaya and Shizuo inspect every part of the younger boy.

"Perhaps we should be gone by now." Kasuka suggested calmly as Shinra returned with Celty and a jar of water. He shoved the two beasts to the side and fed some of the water to Mikado slowly, in order to make sure he didn't drown. After that, he bandaged him up and asked him some routine questions to make sure he was alright. Mikado responded a bit slurred but understandable nonetheless.

"Can we take him home then?" Masaomi asked Shinra, picking up the courage to step forward. Anri stood a few feet behind him, ready to support him if it was necessary. "We should really let him rest so yeah. The King was really stubborn about his feeding times so Mikado-kun will be really tired for a while." As Masaomi was about to pick up his best friend, Izaya slapped his hand away.

Shinra immediately rolled his eyes, warning the two that any activity that was too strenuous on Mikado's body would surely cause the boy to faint. Celty seemed worried but was pulled away by Shinra, who had given up by now. Anri looked worried but was pushed away by Masaomi. As worried as he was over his best friend, he knew an unwinnable situation when he saw it. Kasuka quickly offered the teens a ride home and they took it gladly.

The moon's light fell inside the hall as the two men loomed over Mikado. While the two finished their initial inspections, the teen looked up at the moon. He hadn't known but it was the sole witness to the fulfillment of the wish he had made. And quite possibly, Mikado had regretted it by now.

**End?  
NO!  
Let the fun times begin…**

"Concubine, my foot." Izaya said rather nicely and Shizuo silently agreed with him. Both were very pissed about the information they had received. Well, the annoyance was already gone, thanks to them, but they still had one thing to resolve. "Tell me, Mikado-kun, did you think that this so-called King was going to keep you?"

"Stop bullying him. I know he was scared of that guy. There's no way he was treated right." Shizuo tried pushing Izaya away but the other held a tight grip over Mikado. When he realized Izaya didn't plan on leaving, he made sure Mikado had finished the water given to him first before planting his lips on top of the young teen. "He'd better not have kissed you or anything."

"Really Shizu-chan, getting ahead of schedule isn't pretty. And besides, even if he had, I'd make sure to remind him no place on Earth is safe from me." Izaya's tone brought shivers to the teen and Shizuo retorted quickly.

"You're not the only one flea! Don't think you'll be the one to bring that bastard into hell." Even if he wasn't tired, Mikado would definitely have a hard time running away from the two who pinned him.

As Mikado squirmed a bit in a very useless fashion, he brought the attention of the two on him. "Oh, so sorry for ignoring you, Mikado-kun. We were having a very important discussion, Shizu-chan and I." Izaya smiled brightly at Mikado and started to fully undress him. He took of the remaining clothes, which were only his pants and underpants, and trailed his hand over the boy's chest, watching how the teen tried to hold in a shudder. "So glad he didn't do anything else aside from drinking your blood."

"And that ain't yours to give, either." Shizuo warned and gave another kiss to the boy. This time it was much deeper and it almost didn't give Mikado room to breathe. He gasped for air once it was over and felt his heart skip a beat when a hand groped his lower region. It was Shizuo, who didn't let the teen utter a word of defiance by locking his lips again.

"Well, I feel left behind. I think you're keeping Mikado-kun to yourself when he isn't yours either, Shizu-chan." Izaya warned and let one of his hands roam south as well until it reached the ignored hole. Mikado whimpered as Izaya managed to push Shizuo away so that he could be kissing Mikado now.

Shizuo clicked his tongue in annoyance but didn't cease pumping the hardening member in his hand. Izaya grinned from his position, gaining a soft moan from the teen when either he or Shizuo reached a pleasurable spot on his body. The teen was literally being eaten by the two adults but it was impossible to stop them anymore.

Several movements of the hands later, Mikado had drenched Shizuo and Izaya with his semen. "Well, at least you have enough energy for this. How about you decide at last who gets to take you? You can't be both of ours, you know." Izaya teased but urged Mikado to make his decision. Unfortunately, Mikado didn't respond and simply shook his head. Clicking his tongue, Izaya was about to give Mikado another kiss when Shizuo lifted him up to stretch the teen's hole some more. Izaya grinned at the chance and unbuttoned his pants.

Catching the unspoken message Izaya was giving him, Mikado pulled himself forward to Izaya and gave him the inside of his mouth. "Why are you taking all the best parts?" Shizuo growled, his tongue sticking out of his mouth.

"You started it first, Shizu-chan." Izaya joked, looking a bit flustered as Mikado was sucking just a tad bit hard at the moment. Shizuo quickly unbuckled his pants and sat up before he thrust deep inside the teen. Izaya had felt that movement and quickly came inside of Mikado's mouth. "So sorry, Mikado-kun." He apologized and supported Mikado while Shizuo ravaged him.

Once Shizuo came, he moved to kiss Mikado but Izaya was already doing that. He tried to cut in but Izaya kept him at bay. There were pleasurable moans coming from Mikado as he was now being touched everywhere. When he felt satisfied, Izaya pulled Mikado his way and slightly laid him against Shizuo and the floor so he could enter him. Mikado slurred his words but it was evident to the two that he was calling for them. Without being asked to, Mikado turned a bit and began to lick Shizuo the moment Izaya entered him.

"So good, Mikado-kun. Keep going." Izaya edged him on as he pumped Mikado at the same time he moved. Shizuo held his ground and played with the nipples in a symphony of movements. Another thrust more and Mikado was filled completely with both Shizuo and Izaya. "Don't ever let yourself get captured like that, Mikado-kun. If you won't decide then be prepared to belong to us forever."

As he closed his eyes, Mikado noticed the moon in the distance. He wasn't sure if he could ever regret the words Izaya spoke but he knew them to be true. And anyone who got in the way would suffer the wrath of the two on top of him. It wasn't a wish, it was a given fact.

**End!**

* * *

Sissy: I am so sorry this took so long! Words cannot convey how sorry I am. But I hope you enjoyed your request, Celestial Reyvateil-san! (I have to find net to read your story calmly on the computer as well) But for those of you who want more of the war sandwich (I think that was how people called the triple pairing here), there is another request given to me filled with nothing but smut!


	31. Dance in the Square

**Title:** Dance in the Square  
**By:** Sissy

**Pairings:** szmk + onesided!sziz + srcr  
**Warnings:** T!chapter. Supernatural!AU. Character death! Based on The Back Horn's Utsukushii Namae and Tozasareta Sekai.

* * *

The smoke was rising towards the east. As if it were running from the setting sun on the west. Or maybe it's because that's the most obvious course for catching up to it faster. Masaomi wasn't sure. But he couldn't put his gaze away from that stupid smoke. If souls could be compared to something, it'd be that, he was sure. What rose up and headed off on its' own was just as that person's soul. Tears began to form in his eyes. They threatened to fall and he couldn't do anything to stop them.

"Kida-kun." Anri walked over to him, carefully carrying two small bottles of ash. She hadn't yet decided if she should give him one even though she was told to. It felt too precious to give away just like that. "They thought he might be happy with us having a part of him." She still explained to him.

Masaomi's hands trembled. He wanted to be just like that rising smoke. Carefree and ignorant of others. "Why doesn't anybody blame me?!" He cried out his true feelings, knowing them to just be his selfish emotions. Nobody had done so and hadn't planned on it. What happened that time was something out of his hands. Out of anyone's, really.

"Because we accept this as truth. Everyone knows that was just Ryugamine-kun being himself. There was no way for us to negate him that part of himself." She spoke only the truth and gently passed him the jar in her left hand. Just like the one in her right, it had a soft blue bow tied around the neck of the bottle. It was part of the will too. Masaomi doesn't take it just yet, also feeling as if that was much too precious for him to hold.

Anri feels jealousy over Masaomi but she doesn't voice it. She knows she can't. Saika would consume her if she despaired. So she lets Masaomi do it for her. In return, she helps him recover from his wounds, never giving more that comforting and truthful words. When Masaomi finally takes his bottle of ash, he holds it so tight it feels like it might break. "I'm so sorry Mikado!"

Both wish the sky could reflect the turmoil in their hearts. However, the sky shines brightly and against their wishes. Far off, those two adults call out to them, asking if they need a ride home. Both Anri and Masaomi respectfully decline their invitation. Kyohei comes near them this time, inviting them out to dinner. He refuses to accept anything other than their nods and once in Saburou's van, they head to the Russia Sushi.

Simon greets them with the usual smile, not once mentioning about the day's events, and brings them to a separate room. Dennis, however, suggests they have something strong to drink. "Illegal or not, it's best to drink in someone's honor once they pass away." He explains and hands them all vodka he keeps for such occasions.

Erika and Walker are the first to be drunk since they have low alcohol tolerance. They ask to see the small bottles and cry once they hold each bottle in their hands. Kyohei asks if they need company and Erika tries to tease Kyohei about his comment but falls head first on the table, completely unconscious. Everyone tries to lift the mood but no one can forget the events of that day.

It all began with that phone call. With a teasing tone, the unknown voice on the other line beckons calamity. The pair find out through other means as pictures had been posted online. But everyone found out at the same time. Just that one person though, had decided to run ahead. Chasing after the burning building, ignoring the sounds of firemen on their way, he is stopped by his best friend. "What the hell are you doing?! They'll be here soon! Just wait!"

"There's no way, Masaomi. Even if they were already doing their jobs, I wouldn't be able to do that." The response was kind and affectionate, not at all fearful. Masaomi pleads and tries to reason with him, speaking of someone else's plans as if he knew them. He could only guess yet still, he was right. "Even when he succumbs to that weak side of his that he refuses to admit exists, I'm sure there's good in him."

There were probably no words to describe Masaomi's shock and his hands let go in fright. Knowing this was a plan of Izaya's did not stop him. In fact, he had accepted that fact long ago. But he still believed in the good nature of people and those impossible happy endings. There was just no way for Masaomi to break his hope and dreams.

The firefighters arrive on the scene and Anri is the one to tell them that the number of people inside has risen to two. Kyohei and the others appear soon after to witness the scene. One unconscious blond is taken in the arms of the firefighters who rose up to meet him. But the moment when they reach out to the young savior, and this comes from their own shocked words, the floor gives out from the heat and that teen comes plummeting down to the floor.

"MIKADO!" The screams fill the surroundings. It then becomes Masaomi's job to inform his best friend's parents of the news, though all he manages to do is call them. Anri takes up the mantle after him, not saying a single word of how tight Masaomi had been holding onto her hand.

Time can, hopefully, only heal their wounds.

* * *

When he arrives at the park, the first thing he notices are the three children huddled up together. Two boys are comforting, or at least trying to, the girl with them. His sandals make a 'clip clop' sound as he makes his way towards them. Once near the three, he bends down to their eyelevel, placing his hands on his knees which are covered thanks to the fisherman jeans he wears. Though it isn't that cold, he still has on a long sleeved yet open-neck sweater on. "Is everything alright?" He finally asks the three.

"Can you believe this lie?!" He's asked without knowing anything. The boy to the left goes into detail, "Those stupid doodooheads! They went and told her fairytales don't come true! That there's no such thing!"

The boy on the right nudges his friend on the left, motioning to the girl in the middle. He feels regret of his own words and tries to make her smile again. "You're not like those guys, right?" The boy on the right decides to ask the teen, who quickly shakes his head.

"Fairytales come true. There are such things as happy endings." He's in agreement with all three children and the two boys tackle him to the ground.

"You'll take responsibility, right?!" Both ask at the same time, leaving the older one confused. With a quick promise to the girl that they would be back soon, the teen is pulled aside and shown a white no-sleeved dress. He's forced to put it over his clothes, revealing to the boys that the dress is a little too big for him. "Well, it'll do, right?" One boy asks to the other, leaving the oldest one confused.

But before he can voice out any complain, a wig is put on him and he's pulled back towards the depressed girl. "Look! It's an Ouhime-sama! She's gonna dance until the Ouji-sama comes!" They declare and with little choice, the new Ouhime-sama dances to the rhythm of the children's wishes, waiting for the Ouji-sama to come to 'her' rescue.

* * *

The room, like every other room in the building, is painted with a color so white, it could almost blind you. Most patients on the floor are unconscious so the only sounds around are of those made by nurses on rounds or doctors on duty passing by for checkups. Inside this room in particular, is someone who when awake would scare everyone but, since he's currently opposite of that, is simply viewed like every other patient in the hospital.

"Shizu-chan…"

Watching over him at the moment is Izaya. He takes glances around the room every so often to look at the flowers surrounding the sleeping man. There's a wound on his left cheek, given to him by a very famous person. Though one might believe it to be retribution for having placed the man there, it's actually for a completely different reason. Izaya had been caught by both Kasuka and Ruri, during official visitation hours, throwing the small bottle of ash out the window. It nearly hit some pedestrians on the head and the ash was blown away before anyone had a chance to stop it.

"Shizu-chan…"

Masaomi had blamed him before the cremation, before he wallowed with self-guilt, and had tried to hit him when Izaya came before him. Unfortunately for the younger male, Izaya never gave him the pleasure of doing so. The kouhai from school was teased and taunted but Izaya knew when to stop so he left quickly. But no one had known of the knot in the pit of Izaya's stomach.

"Shizu-chan…"

From the time he was born, Izaya regretted nothing. He could say it as many times as he wanted; his hatred for this blond extended itself to the stars. Nothing would make him happier than to see him disappear. Yet no matter how many times he tried or in how many ways he tried it, Izaya was never able to succeed. Until now, that is.

"Shizu-chan…"

Saved by only a fraction of a second, all it took was the life of someone else. Yet, here the blond man lay, deep asleep. Locked inside the very mind that tormented him when awake. That constantly reminded him of the pain he caused others. Izaya found it only somewhat amusing. Maybe even ironic. He'd totally blame himself for that person's death, Izaya believes but says nothing regarding that.

"Shizu-chan…"

No matter how much he calls out, the other refuses to listen. Perhaps the blond had already given up, Izaya wonders. If so, would he never get chased by him again? Part of him is glad. Part of him weeps. A soft knock brings Izaya back from his thoughts and he turns around to see Shinra. "Kasuka-kun told me you were visiting. Here to look at your handiwork? Or in Celty's words, are you happy now? Or do you finally regret this? In any case, there are a lot of people who don't want you here. I don't really care, but it's past visiting hours. The nurses are starting to wonder if you're actually his lover."

"You must be joking." Izaya's grin is back in place, much like every other time. Even if this person finds out, he wouldn't care but he comes anyways. "But you gotta wonder. All this time and this is what kills Shizu-chan? Hey, did he hear about Mikado-kun? Is that why he won't wake up? Does he blame himself? I noticed they both seemed fixated on each other."

"Izaya-kun…" Shinra catches Izaya's attention again, a serious tone in his voice. He wants to say it but decides to keep it to himself. Izaya deserves a little pain. Besides, soon enough, the informant would return to himself. He would never let anyone else know about that. "I'll leave you alone for now. But leave after that. You can't stay here anymore."

Once Shinra is gone, Izaya looks back at the sleeping blond and notices the drop of water fall onto the bed sheet. He finally realizes it's a tear, the true reason Shinra left. No words can describe Izaya's feelings. Those he locked away, ignored and beat down until he couldn't see them anymore. His voice tried to cry out but his pride stopped him. He was already too far gone to express himself well.

"Shizu-chan…"

No matter how much he tries, the call is never above a whisper. He so, so wishes the blond would wake up. The doctors don't know why he hasn't and fear that at some point, some day, he'll be gone. And Izaya accepts he fears that reality.

Perhaps time will return him to normal, but only on the outside.

* * *

As he enters the park, he feels refreshed. Slightly younger too. The kind of younger that has hope in the world. That believes first loves are true loves. Who fears no evil but knows when they're being protected. That blindly and stupidly rushes ahead without looking back. Who regrets nothing in the beginning. He feels like that kind of young person.

In the distance, he can see a dancing girl and three children gazing in admiration. The little girl in the middle seems the most entranced with the dance. It's soft and uses both hands and feet to motion a soft melody. He could almost hear it in his mind. His sneaker-covered feet carry him towards the four. The slightly-loose jeans sweep the floor as he walks and he lifts his t-shirt to place his hands in his pockets.

"That's a pretty dance." He awkwardly compliments the dancing girl, noticing the surprised look. In turn, he realizes his mistake but before he can correct it, he's tackled by the two boys who seem incredibly happy with his appearance.

"You're here! Come on! We gotta do this right!" They speak at the same time and pull him away without letting him say a word. The little girl looks confused but is consoled by the dancing 'girl' left behind. "Aw, man! It's a bit short. I didn't think that would happen." The boy on the left said with a pout once the cape is put in place.

"How about we switch them?" The boy on the right asks, making a switching motion with his arms. His friend shakes his head, knowing it's far too late for such a thing. Both boys stare at him and give him the battle plan. He doesn't say 'no' to them and agrees because he actually thinks it might be fun. And he's young and stupid anyways.

When they return, all three notice the look of admiration on the little girl. "An Ouji-sama!" She squeals happily and the Ouhime-sama stands up, trying to control 'her' blush. The Ouji-sama extends his right hand softly towards the Ouhime-sama. "May I have this dance?" He softly asks and the Ouhime-sama replies with a nod and a smile.

The children watch the two dance to the rhythm of their wishes, a bright smile on each other's lips.

Just one being notices the dance. If she could cry, she would. Better yet, she is. But only far, far away from there. Her lover by her side notices this. He needs no eyes himself to know her feelings. "Celty? What is it?" If she could only say it, but she won't. She can't. At this point she believes again. Just like the feelings of that boy. She believes.

In happy endings.

**End**

* * *

Sissy: So when I read the lyric translations, I realized how awesome the two songs were. Somehow, I think most Back Horn songs are pretty sad but that's beside the point. Tozasareta Sekai made me think of Mikado just in a few lyrics and I realized I needed a reason for him to throw himself in the fire. Utsukushii Namae could be applied as Izaya being the one in the hospital but there are too many plots with him being the one hurt and it seemed more fun this way. Then came the mixing. The prince and princess subplot was just an addition to make it happier since the majority of the plot is pretty depressing. I know. As for the three kids…who knows.


	32. REQ: Fetish

**Request:** Fetish  
**Requester:** Miko Vampire  
**By:** Sissy

**Pairing:** szmkiz  
**Warnings:** MA!chapter. Fantasy!AU. Catboy!Mikado (per hobby…err, request). Random plotless fic for pure kink-type smut (per request, sorta).

* * *

Mikado's low breaths kept them on their toes. Every twitch made them that much aware of the teen beneath them. Izaya started it first by slowly ripping open the younger male's shirt with his favorite pocket knife. Shizuo then placed his hand on top of the partly exposed chest. In response, Mikado gave a low gasp due to the cold touch. His breathing increased and he had no idea where to move to.

The two older men saw soft ears twitch every other second and Izaya felt like bothering them. He softly blew inside the one nearest to him and saw it fold back. At the same time, Mikado closed his eyes and gave a soft whimper. Shizuo moved his hand closer to the neck and Mikado opened his eyes a bit while his mouth tried to word something out. A simple purr-like sound came out instead and Shizuo's fingernails trailed the neck, giving it a scratched feeling.

Closing his eyes again, Mikado seemed to enjoy the touch and the fur-filled taps could be felt at each of the older men's sides. It moved quickly but stopped every second that Mikado took a breath. Softly, Izaya trailed down his hand across Mikado's side until he stopped at the hips. A fingernail began to grab the edge of the jeans and let it go quickly, making a clicking sound, before the process was repeated once again. Over and over. Each tap echoed inside the tiny apartment until Mikado tried to block it from his ears.

A smirk from each male and Shizuo was the first to bent down, his lips passing as closely as possible to the skin without making contact until they reached the bottom of the jaw. Mikado let out a low, yet quick and surprised gasp the moment he felt teeth gnawing at him. The voice that still refused to speak out was stifled the moment he noticed the cool air hit him. Izaya had opened the jeans as quietly as possible and began lower them, allowing the tip of his nails to come into contact with the hidden skin underneath. A soft whimper and heat started to rise.

The held down hands entwine fingers with its captors' rough and smooth ones. Shizuo licks for a short but rough second the area that was gnawed on. He raises his head, leaving steps of saliva until they finally arrive at the corner of the quivering lips. His free hand descends again and moves away the right side of the broken shirt to expose part of the chest. Izaya watches as Shizuo does the same for the other side before he slowly descends a finger to the top of the risen button. As if it were a volume control, Shizuo moves the finger round and round. Immediately, Izaya senses a twitch. He smirks and taps the rod until liquid forms at the tip.

Finally, the awaited voice begins to cry out. It was nothing more than a single letter but it repeats again and again in long segments. Every short pause urges the older males into losing control but they stand their ground. Izaya trails down his finger, feeling every little bump on the skin before he goes back up again. Simple agitation but it serves its purpose. Mikado closes his eyes and tries to look away, biting down the bottom of his lips for control.

In the recesses of their minds, both continue to hear the taps at their sides. Izaya's hand descends for the fourth time but much lower this time. He can feel moving fur, the source of the continuing taps, as he searches for an opening. Mikado opens his eyes and his head rolls back, raising his neck to the air, the moment Izaya finds it. He tries to escape but his whole body, including his captured hands, are held down. The moment he tries to voice something coherent, Shizuo's teeth come in contact with Mikado's soft ear.

Stifling his voice, tears begin to form at the edges of the younger male's eyes. Both males smirk at that and Izaya edges Shizuo on to continue. Moving down to the other ear, Shizuo licks it, making a trail along the jaw line. There's a small shiver that courses through Mikado's body all the way down, causing a small twitch near Izaya's fingers.

Unable to control himself anymore, Izaya wiggles the finger a bit and manages to put one more in. Closing his eyes, Mikado continues to stifle the sounds forcing their way through his throat. Shizuo pinches the skin and a little bit comes out. Using his thumb, Izaya starts to massage the skin above the hole. Mikado loses control of his mouth and his voice comes out once more. Though both enjoy the sounds coming from him, Shizuo is the first to put his mouth over the younger male's lips.

Izaya watches Mikado respond and the hand underneath his move upward in an attempt to escape. Invading the moist cavern, Shizuo finds the tongue and forces it to comply with his movements. Deciding not to stop now, Izaya moves his fingers in and out, searching for the one spot to turn Mikado completely into a pile of goo. With the hands incessant movements and his mouth covered, Mikado can't think well, nor breathe correctly, and he finds himself covering the older men in thick liquid.

Shizuo separates to see himself drenched and smirks at Izaya, who simply grins in response. Lifting the hand circling Mikado's chest, Shizuo begins to take off his necktie and unbutton his shirt. Izaya pops his fingers out, ignoring the small yelp from Mikado, and shrugs his jacket off. For one second he lets go of Mikado's hand but quickly holds it down again. As Shizuo struggles with his shirt, Izaya offers to cut it up. Shizuo glares in response and Mikado shakes his head. He sighs and helps Shizuo out because he would take too long. In return, Shizuo pulls the shirt off of Izaya.

Both notice Mikado extending his hands towards them and they push it down, making a loud smack against the floor. With their chests exposed, Mikado can see the deep breathing both take as they move their hands across his chest. He stares at the bulging lower regions of both males and the two notice it. Shizuo moves first and places his hand underneath Mikado, lifting his lower body into the air. Mikado is surprised and doesn't know where to place his legs so he brings them closer to his body. The hand holds him steady by the bottom and caresses the line, trying to go in while ignoring the meddlesome fur.

Bringing his mouth closer to the thigh, Shizuo lightly bites the area. Izaya moves the legs into a better position and turns his upper body so he can move closer to the member that stuck out. Sounds come out, a mixture between an elongated vocal and a loud purr, the moment Izaya sticks out his tongue to touch pulsating skin. He nibbles lightly everywhere until he reaches the tip and awkwardly, purely because of his position, begins to suck.

Expulsing another spray, Mikado covers part of Izaya's face and mouth. The man licks his lips and lets go of the held hand to unbuckle his pants. Shizuo watches him fumble with it, his finger never ceasing to slowly play with the hidden opening, until Mikado extends his hand to help. Izaya lowers his jeans a bit and frees the hard member which Mikado cautiously reaches to touch with his fingertip. It twitches upon being touched and Izaya prevents his voice from coming out by smiling at Mikado.

The younger male feels the heat coursing through Izaya and tries to cool it down by grasping it. Izaya stares at the handiwork the boy does for him and uses his free hand to keep himself upright. Though a bit hesitant and with an odd rhythm, simply due to Shizuo's movements, Mikado eventually gets the job done. As thanks, Izaya lowers himself and gives Mikado a long yet less forceful kiss. When they separate, the two turn their heads towards Shizuo. They know he's been pacing himself pretty well so Mikado tries to unbuckle his pants as well. When he can't reach well, Izaya helps out and does the job himself. Immediately, Shizuo growls but Izaya takes it off quickly, a simpler type of belt buckle than his own.

Izaya makes no motion this time to lower Shizuo's black pants as he doesn't wish to place his hand anywhere near that bulging mess. Noticing the standstill, Shizuo ceases the fight and lets go of Mikado's held hand. It immediately shoots towards Shizuo and pulls down, earning a low groan from the dyed-blond man. The hand holding up Mikado falls down and Izaya quickly manages to save the boy from hitting his bum too hard. As Mikado slides over to get closer to Shizuo, Izaya twists the lower half of the boy so he can suck once more. Immediately, Mikado stops and holds on to Shizuo for support.

Watching how Izaya plays with the younger male, he notices that Mikado is enjoying both the mouth and finger inside the opening again. He twitches and Mikado feels the pulsating member, even from afar. Realizing Shizuo is basically being ignored, he tries getting a little closer and begins with a lick, a movement similar to Izaya's from earlier. Moving to smaller bites, he reaches the tip and slowly brings it inside his mouth. Izaya notices this and growls lightly while moving his fingers at a slightly faster rate. Mikado flinches and the soft ears twitch, gaining Shizuo's attention, who moves to caress the closest to him. Trying as hard as he can, Mikado sucks and licks terribly, not able to concentrate very well.

A low groan from Shizuo and coughing noises from Mikado alerts Izaya that Shizuo has relieved himself. He glances towards Shizuo, who glances at him in return. Their thoughts are the same as they raise their fists to the air. Three shakes later and Izaya wins the first round. He lifts up Mikado's bottom and raises the bothersome fur. It twitches and taps resiliently as Izaya brings himself in. The almost voiceless gasps of Mikado cause Shizuo to move forward and lock their lips together. Izaya begins to thrust slowly, looking for the correct spot. Once Mikado can't hold on anymore, Shizuo places the younger male's hands on his shoulders for support.

Reaching the boiling point, Mikado feels Izaya become hotter. His nails start to dig into Shizuo's skin as tears fall slowly. The blond man reaches down to Mikado's hard self and pumps to help him out. In return, Mikado manages to somehow grab the tip of Shizuo and moves his hand to pleasure him. Izaya knows he's reached the correct spot when he hears Shizuo growl lightly due to Mikado's tight grip. Hitting it a few more times and the contained voice flows out freely. Izaya freezes on the spot and feels everything flow out of him.

Without letting him rest, Shizuo pulls out Mikado from Izaya's grasp and brings him closer. Their lips are locked feverously as Mikado's body brushes itself with Shizuo's for every second they stay close. Shizuo realizes Mikado wants his release and pulls the bottom up until he arrives inside Mikado. The legs entwine his hips as the furry feeling tries to coil around his legs. Izaya watches Mikado's arms hold on tightly to Shizuo's neck and pouts. He quickly pulls Mikado away from Shizuo, though only partly, before capturing the lips for himself. Not knowing what to do with his hands, Mikado simply tries to hang on to Shizuo's arms. However, Izaya pulls them away from Shizuo and places them around his neck instead. He gives support to the younger male with his chest and makes sure the front isn't neglected.

Mikado tightens his grip and separates from Izaya's mouth to cry out, tears streaming down. Izaya isn't too happy Shizuo managed to be the one to force him to use his throat. With a hard slump down, Mikado leans against Izaya's chest. Izaya slowly raises Mikado's head to face him again so their lips lock once more. Low moans can be heard as slow movements affect both Shizuo and Mikado. Izaya doesn't let them rest as he separates his lips from Mikado and pushes him towards Shizuo. Confused for only a moment, Mikado's head is quickly pulled into Shizuo's shoulder as the older male offered his own skin. Mikado accepts it gladly when the pain becomes too unbearable and bites down on it.

Even though Shizuo glares at Izaya, the other simply grins as he moves to find the best spot for him. Soon, the light pain on Shizuo's shoulder subsides and it's replaced with low breaths that tickle him. He shudders as the rocking movements entice him. Mikado grabs hold of Shizuo while Izaya makes sure the younger teen's lips belong to him. The tightness between then prevent much movement and not one of them is able to reach a comfortable conclusion. However, they continue to seek it and Shizuo is the first to notice they are reaching their boiling point when Mikado's nails begin to dig deep. Izaya realizes it a second later as Mikado desperately seeks air to breathe.

What feels like an eternity of pure fighting, comes to an abrupt end when Mikado tightens himself and feels a deep shock from being completely filled by the other two. As he slumps down to the side, both adults separate and fall right there next to him. Their breathing is erratic but is slowly calming down. Sleep beckons all three and the long night is finally over.

When the sun begins to shine inside of the apartment, Mikado opens his eyes. He's startled by the sudden breeze and tries to sit up but doesn't have the strength. Instead he passes a hand through his head and realizes something. "Stupid curse! I'm never leaving home on a full moon again!" He murmurs angrily to himself and sighs with relief. At least the ears and tail were gone. But if they resurfaced again and these two got a hold of him, he wasn't sure how much more he'd last.

**END**

* * *

Sissy: Words cannot describe how late this is, or how ashamed I feel. I'm not even going to give anyone an excuse. It doesn't even seem worthy of pity or forgiveness. Just hope everyone enjoyed this and I'll keep watch for my hope that FF doesn't get angry by the amount of smut the short shorts have. Otherwise, I'll have to move anything "smutty" to AO3.


	33. Burning the Desire

**Title:** Burning the Desire  
**By:** Sissy

**Pairings:** izmkao  
**Warnings:** T!chapter. Purely for the sake of me liberating some stress.

* * *

In one hand, Mikado carried the box of matches which he fiddled around his fingers with. On the other hand, he carried a lighter which he kept flicking on and off. Aoba was on his right, holding onto an empty keg with care. Izaya stood to the left, twirling the empty gasoline tank with joy. In front of all three was a long bucket with contents that Mikado deplored and abhorred so intensely, he had a hard time thinking of what to use first to get rid of them. Aoba edged him on with the matches, saying it would increase the pleasure. Izaya tried to convince him of the lighter, reminding him they had other places to be. In response, Mikado crossed his arms, offering the items to the ones who had picked them. He gave them an offer to do this in his place and spoke of a reward. Both males by his side quickly took the offered item with a wide grin.

Aoba lit up a match with ease, the scratching against the box sounding very loud for a single moment. Izaya had already flicked the lighter on and had been waiting for Aoba. When they were ready, both threw the items in their hands towards the ground, slowly watching as Aoba's match missed the mark yet Izaya's lighter did not. The black powder on the ground lit up and headed off in twists and turns. Aoba's grin was becoming wider and wider, reaching up to his eyes. Izaya scoffed happily, waiting for the fuse to finally reach its intended target. Mikado's eyes focused on following the fuse, his eyes slowly becoming distant.

Once it finally reached its goal, the bright flame grew in size and became hotter than ever. The smell of plastic slowly filled the air and various cracks could be heard. Sparks flew a few seconds later, threatening anyone who dared to come closer. Mikado took a step forward and was quickly stopped by the two on his sides. He had wanted to get a better seat but any closer would be dangerous. And neither of the two wanted him to be in danger.

"Now, Mikado-kun, how about my reward?" Izaya smirked, purring the words inside of Mikado's ear but quickly yelped in pain when his nose was held tight. Mikado didn't stop for a while and when he finally let go, Izaya moved away to rub his nose. Aoba held in his stifles, almost threatening to burst out laughing.

"Isn't it obvious this has to finish first? You're so stupid, Orihara-san." Aoba mocked Izaya by enunciating the formality with him. Izaya returned an unpleased glare but kept his mouth shut. Mikado continued to stare at the fire as his eyes focused once more on the two with him.

"I feel better now." He declared with a smile and felt two pairs of arms hugging him from different angles. He looked down at Aoba then up at Izaya with a curious gaze. "Were you two really that worried?"

With two nods in response, Mikado felt heat rising through his face. "You see Mikado-kun, when you get angry, it's almost impossible to appease you. I'm so glad this managed to put you in your happy place again. Such a pyromaniac you are, Mikado-kun." Izaya pokes fun at the younger one and yelps again when he feels Aoba pinch his stomach. He tries to retaliate but Mikado stops him.

"Anyways!" Aoba starts and takes a step back with a smile. "Shall we have Orihara-san buy you new hardware? The old one's outdated…and well, you know, burnt now." He pointed to the still burning flame and saw some more sparks fly out like fireworks.

"So you're going to make use of me so soon? What happened to my reward?" Izaya pouted and received a whispered reply. He shivered with anticipation and accompanied the two younger boys out. Without worry about the flames behind them, Izaya brought out his phone and sent a message. The sprinkler system activated and died out the flames easily. Aoba rolled his eyes and Mikado chuckled lightly. In the remains lay Mikado's old phone and computer, including all the cables used for them.

Nothing else was added because Mikado didn't feel like it at the moment and his partners were glad of that. If he had decided to include anything else, both males thought Mikado might end up burning down their flat. For that, they were actually thankful.

**End**

* * *

Sissy: Yeah, uh… Let me explain. Some things really, really, REALLY tick me off. And then I can't stop and just feel like burning down anything and everything, starting with what ticks me off. This time around it was (again) my phone and its lack of cooperation with connecting to my computer (my zune's cable does that too, grrr). I was appeased later on in the afternoon (with Finn's Buff Baby song), but well…


	34. It was a dream

**Title:** It was a dream  
**By:** Sissy

**Pairings:** izmk  
**Warnings:** T!chapter. Depressing, character death-ish. And no relation to drabble 3.

* * *

There was something horribly wrong and Mikado could see it. He could hear it, in fact. But he just couldn't find the strength to get up from his current position. He wasn't even sure he had the will to do so either. Whatever was left of his field of vision gave him the knowledge that Shinra and Shiki were having tea right in front of him. How they could when everything right off the balcony in front of them was heading into oblivion was beyond Mikado's current state of mind. Suddenly, the voices in his head were calling out to him. They were his friends; the ones that cared and were looking for him while, at the same time, trying to survive the chaos.

"Mikado!"  
"Mikado-kun!"  
"Ryugamine!"  
"Mikado-san!"  
"Ryugamine-san!"  
"Ryugamine-kun!"

All sorts of ways to call his name resounded. They were desperate. But there wasn't anything he could do to for them. He couldn't even move. Then, he noticed, out of the corner of his eyes, the black silhouette of bodies climbing upwards. Shinra stood up and exclaimed with joy some words Mikado couldn't understand. Shiki remained the same as he brought the teacup to his lips once more. In the blink of an eye, Shinra was engulfed by the formation of bodies, carried away to who-knows-where. For all Mikado knew, Shinra could have been dead now. However, even as he currently was, Mikado could tell Shinra was happy to be taken away. Ecstatic even.

"Looks we've run out of time. We can't hide you any longer than this. You need to run on your own now. Get caught or be saved. Your choice." Shiki had gotten closer to Mikado and bent down to reach his eye level. Both knew there were no words that could be uttered at the moment. Then, without any more warning, Shiki picked up Mikado by the scruff of his shirt and stood next to the balcony. In a single second of will, Mikado had turned his head to stare at Shiki but there was nothing more the man could do. There was no hesitation in his next act. It was as if Shiki knew that Mikado would be alright.

Mikado had managed to watch as Shiki had been consumed by the madness. He wasn't horrified. There was no time to feel anything as his body rolled down to safety. At the bottom, Mikado could feel himself falling back but someone had grabbed hold of his hand. "Whoa! Lucky I was here. Or are you looking to die?" Chikage asked curiously but noted Mikado never replied. Before he could question Mikado's current state, he heard the long series of collisions and wheels screeching off to the fast distance. That he could reminded Chikage of how badly things were right now. "No time to stay then. Let's go!" Grabbing his hand, Chikage pulled Mikado away just in time to avoid the black-like hands lounging for him.

It was around the famous Love sign that Chikage toppled with Izaya. The informant looked excited to see Mikado, as if he had been expecting him for some time. "Since you went through all the trouble of bringing him here, mind handing him over already? My little Boss-chan gets very lonely when I'm not with him." Izaya had spoken very sweetly as he swung his legs across the air. Chikage took a quick glance at the teen behind him but noticed nothing out of the ordinary until the pair of eyes behind Mikado stared up at him, a wide smile creeping up.

"Don't think everything will go so easily for you, Izaya." Shizuo had arrived, possibly in the nick of time, with a beat-up metal pipe tapping his shoulder. Chikage wasn't able to turn around to face Shizuo as his eyes were unable to turn away from that smile. It called out to him, unable to let him go. It was the very essence of disorder. The worst of it was that both Izaya and Shizuo knew what was happening to him and neither did anything for him. Chikage was currently treated as a sacrificial lamb for the smile to engulf. At the end, he wasn't even able to wonder if that was the feeling people had before losing themselves to the sea of abyss.

Izaya dropped down from the sign at the same time Chikage was lost. He seemed confident about winning against Shizuo. When the knife flashed out, the madman of Ikebukuro lounged for the sociopath of Shinjuku. The metal pipe clashed with the knife, sparks flying as they rubbed against one another. Shizuo was enjoying himself, a wide smirk and bright glare decorating his face. Izaya, on the other hand, didn't hate it, but he wasn't enjoying himself either. What he wanted was something different. Something that was very close by and was gazing at him. Something that was joined together with Mikado's lifeless eyes. What he wanted was that. And nobody would stop him from getting it. World be damned if anyone tried. And he knew they had been trying. But he wasn't about to stop.

"Master, use this. It'll be helpful." An adoring voice spoke up and Shizuo stopped in his attacks. Where the bucket and brush had come from, he wasn't sure. But the thing he knew was that he was in trouble. Izaya stood right in front of that and had offered his right leg quite easily. When the hand crept over Mikado's shoulder, it doused the whole foot with red paint. As casually as he could, Izaya gave the usual scoffing grin before he twirled his foot. The substance hurt more than Shizuo imagined and he wondered how many more kicks Izaya could do before he got tired or the paint fell off. "So beautiful, Izaya-sama. Come hither. Let me adore you better." Seductively, it called for him and Izaya could not resist. He wanted it too.

Lips met, swallowing saliva hungrily, as if it were the last bit of liquid left in this forsaken world. "How long more?" Izaya asked, desiring every last bit until there would be nothing left. But it wasn't time yet. They still had to wait just a tiny bit longer. Shizuo was shocked beyond horror. Everything everyone had fought for, gave their lives for; it was all for naught. Nothing mattered to the two in the end. The moment Mikado was lost, they saw the world end.

And then a pair of brown eyes opened. In the darkness, they were unsure if what they saw was real or not. However, tears had begun to fall. Unknown to the owner, they beckoned calamity. They would fall once again that day.

**April 11th, 2012  
Sad End**

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Sissy: Originally, I didn't want to talk about this at all (_Edit_: And even though I explained it when I uploaded it, I don't want to keep looking at the explanation) but I'll say this much. As the title suggests, the whole sequence is pretty much what happened the night before I woke up that dated morning. I added a few things so the story would make sense. That's it.


	35. Daily life of me and you

**Title:** Daily life of me and you  
**By:** Sissy

**Pairings:** izmk  
**Warnings:** T!chapter. Odd!AU. No real warnings this time.

* * *

"It's not a bad thing to dream. I, myself, do a lot of dreaming. For example, dreaming a certain someone would stay dead for a very long time." Izaya spoke calmly, as if it were a very normal thing to speak of. The person in question was obviously Shizuo, Mikado knew that much at least. But one thing always bothered him and it was Izaya's obsession with the bartender, or ex in this matter. Perhaps that was it; they were exes. Izaya would no doubt deny such an allegation but Mikado couldn't help but feel somewhat jealous. "What? I already told you, stop thinking such stupid things." As if reading his mind, which Mikado knew Izaya could accurately guess, the older man flicked the forehead of the Raira student in a quick fashion.

"Izaya, are you bullying Mikado-kun again? I told you already, he's not for your entertainment." Shinra appeared through the open space in the doorway and saw both males sitting on top of the bed, their backs against the wall as they watched television in the darkness. He felt embarrassed by their display of affection but none of that mattered at the moment. "Celty's going to bully you if you tease Mikado-kun too much."

Izaya pouted quite childishly, though Mikado could tell he was simply displeased. If anything could really sour his mood, it was the talk of Mikado's adoptive mother. And he had grabbed the remote control for the television to raise the volume in retaliation. Shinra sighed and left them alone for the moment. As long as Mikado wasn't crying, they could stay as they were for as long as they wanted. At times, Shinra prided himself the good father figure for the boy. Once the door was closed shut, Izaya lowered the volume and resumed the earlier conversation. "So why do you want to meet them? Huh? To thank them? What'd they do for you anyways? Well, it's true that it's thanks to them that I can touch you all I want but you don't need to meet them. Send them a letter or something."

Mikado shook his head and remained quiet for the moment. His head seemed up in the clouds and that was something Izaya never liked. With a sigh, he brought Mikado's attention towards him. "Fine. I'll see what I can dig up. Not like Celty will answer you anyways." Mikado quickly perked up at Izaya's answer and softly smiled. He still had problems showing how he felt but it was better than before. Izaya was always glad Mikado felt as much interest in him as he did in Mikado.

Watching a movie in silence, both quickly fell asleep. It wasn't until the next morning that both were rudely awoken by the sun's rays. Celty was to blame and she had stomped towards the lovers, her shadows clearly showing how angry she was. Mikado had lazily looked up at his foster mother while Izaya kept turning his head between the two. "How do you both even communicate?!" He yelled early, though he was repeating the end of an old conversation.

"Shut up Izaya! I'm getting tired of you!" Celty had shoved the screen of her personal dictation apparatus, as she loved to call it, towards Izaya's face. It proved useful as Izaya promptly remained quiet while she and Mikado finished their silent conversation a few minutes later. "Ooh, fine! You both can do as you like!" With that, Celty stormed off, her body looking as though she was muttering curses to herself. Izaya had actually found it interesting but he wondered if Mikado was talking with her about their previous conversation. If they were, it only served to prove how much the headless woman didn't want to talk about his real parents.

"Looks like I'm not the only one who wants you to myself." He started off with a joke but held Mikado close to him. The Raira student nuzzled his head closer to the informant's chest and, for a moment, Izaya thought he heard his partner purr. They stayed blissfully in silence until Shinra called out for Mikado to have breakfast with them. Slightly hesitant, he decided to also invite Izaya. The informant made a quick remark about his less-than-hospitable attitude but quickly followed the father/son pair to the living/dining room.

Soon after breakfast, Mikado took a quick shower and dressed up for school. Izaya headed out with him in the same outfit from the day before as he would take his shower when he got to his own apartment. On the way to school, both toppled with the infamous man Mikado felt jealous over. The blond ex-bartender quickly glared at the informant and was about to cry out his name in disgust when he felt someone hitting the back of his knees, effectively causing him to lose part of his balance. "Morning stupid people!" Masaomi said calmly as his mini-harem, as he usually called it, stood right behind him.

"Good morning, Masaomi." Shizuo softly greeted the younger male as Mikado nodded in response as well. The informant had quickly brought Mikado closer to him as he wished to stop the gang leader from trying to include the boy in his mini-harem. It always irked Izaya to no end the audacity in which Masaomi would search out the quiet boy. "Hey, Mikado! Heading to school? I've just finished picking up the girls, so wanna come with?"

"Stop including me with your girlfriends!" The kouhai, Aoba, quickly yelled at his sempai but was squeezed in between the twin girls at the back with joy as they spoke to the informant, "Morning big brother! Another late night? How indecent! You didn't even call to say you were staying over! And look, you're still wearing yesterday's clothes! The proof is in the pudding! There's no denying that, big brother the lolicon!" The hyperactive younger twin was stopped when Aoba raised his arms and the older twin placed her hands on the other's mouth.

"Well, ignoring that lovable threesome, how about it Mikado? Wanna come with?" Masaomi asked again as Mairu tried to speak up but was held down by Kururi. With a shake of his head, Mikado bowed politely to Masaomi before heading off with Izaya. "Well that's just boring. They're so lovey-dovey, aren't they, Anri-chan? Oh Mika-chan, we'll have to take notes for Saki-chan today. Are you up for it?" He turned to the girl on his right with a smile and saw her nod proudly. For a second, she eyed someone behind them but ignored it for the moment. Glad of her answer, Masaomi turned to Shizuo. He grinned and led his group off towards school without saying goodbye.

"I must say Seiji-kun seems jealous nowadays too. Are you two forming a club soon?" Izaya grinned and wrapped his arm around Mikado's shoulder in a possessive manner. Instantly, Mikado closed his eyes and tried to look away from Izaya. "Hey, don't get mad at me. I'm not to blame for the fact that your darling mother throws away every piece of clothing I leave in your room. Put up with the stink for a little while longer." Ending the joke, Izaya left the boy at the gates and waved him off. Mikado had looked back at Izaya for a moment, feeling a bit lonely that the other wasn't coming in with him. It couldn't be helped though. Izaya wasn't a student anymore.

When school let out at last, Izaya stood in front of the school waiting for Mikado. Shizuo was on the other side of the gate, silently glaring at Izaya. Anyone looking from afar usually thought of them as the school guardian deities because of their positions. Masaomi was the first to arrive, his harem right behind him as he saluted the two. "Cough it up, Anri-chan. You said he wouldn't last a week. It's been two." He suddenly grinned to the busty girl once he reached the gate and was in ear shot of Shizuo. The girl sighed and brought out a thousand yen bill.

"You had a bet on it?" Shizuo asked, sounding somewhat dejected and Izaya found it all too hilarious in his wait for his Mikado. Masaomi turned to Shizuo and got forward just enough so that the girls could tell how much taller Shizuo was. Without saying anything, he punched the man in the stomach and saw him bent down a bit, reaching Masaomi's neck as support for his head. Around this time, Mikado had caught up with the rest and stood by Izaya's side, watching the older man stare at the scene.

"Listen well, Shizuo-kun." He started to whisper into Shizuo's ear and felt heat spread all over his shoulder. Once the message was received by the older party, Masaomi turned to his harem. "Alright! Shizuo's treating us to ice cream! Cheer with me!" Only the twin girls rejoiced and Masaomi quickly pouted. They started to walk away, quickly wishing Mikado and Izaya a good afternoon, before Shizuo slowly lagged behind them.

Mikado looked over to Izaya, who had started to laugh, and tugged at his shirt to catch his attention. When the man had an uncontrollable fit of laughter and wasn't paying attention, Mikado resorted to using his mother's technique. A jab to the side of his stomach was all it took to finally gain Izaya's attention. He winced in pain but hugged Mikado apologetically. "Sorry, sorry. It was just too funny. Shall we head to my place?" Izaya asked and received a curious tilt of the head from Mikado. It took Izaya all of him just to control himself. Placing an arm over the Raira student's shoulder again, he whispered into his ear. "I got some information for you."

With a nod, the two headed off. Passing by the shops along the streets, both kept quiet and simply looked around for a little while. When they finally got to Izaya's apartment, the older man quickly headed to his desk to pick up his computer. He motioned Mikado to sit in the sofa while he brought the laptop over. Mikado watched it turn on as Izaya moved away again to look for something to drink for Mikado. When he came back, Izaya sat next to Mikado and handed him the cup of juice. The teen always had juice whenever he came over so it was a given Izaya would always have some in his fridge. "It's weird how she didn't want you to know since I found the information quite easily. You know, putting into account the years she traveled, her likely routes and everything Shinra's blabbed to me before." Quickly opening a file, he showed Mikado the information he gathered during the day.

The boy sat closer to read and Izaya watched him scroll down the pages, his eyes darted left and right as they read. There was something similar to excitement on Izaya's face as he waited for Mikado to finish. He was used to looking for both good and bad information for people but this was the first time Mikado had requested something of him. True, he was a bit hesitant since he despised the people that could've abandoned the boy but since it was how they met and Izaya did agree to look for it, he had done his best for the younger teen. A sudden, and very soft, sigh alerted Izaya that Mikado was done reading. He quickly grinned at Mikado, waiting for his reward, but the boy simply placed his head on the man's shoulder.

"That bad, huh?" Izaya groaned lightly and rested his head on top of Mikado's own with a soft thud. Mikado knew it could've been bad. He could've been the last born in a long line of brothers and sisters or just sold off because he was hated. He could've been lost in a war or left behind because he was too slow. There were many things that could've happened to his real parents since he remembered nothing about them anymore. He had also expected them to be dead as well, but Mikado never thought he was going to be correct. That thought had depressed Mikado a lot.

Suddenly, Izaya brought the boy closer to him and hugged him tight. "Shall we take the weekend off and see them? You can tell them your thanks there. Though we might want to keep it a secret from Celty. She'll hunt me down for taking you out of the country." Mikado turned to Izaya, his eyes perking up at the prospect of a trip. Though it was the destination which got him interested rather than the trip itself. "Actually, we could get Shinra to help out. I'm sure he would love a weekend alone with your preciously devoted mother." Hugging Izaya tightly in response, Mikado was happy since he had thought the same.

Izaya managed to control his urges and offered to take Mikado out to dinner. The teen seemed slightly disappointed that Izaya didn't do anything but understood why and agreed to go out. "Oh! Going on a date? Mind if we join?" On the road to the Rushia Sushi, they saw Erika and the gang calling out to them. With a rather polite reply, Izaya escaped the eye of the crazy fujoshi and dragged Mikado along with him. The teen had calmly waved goodbye to them without much care.

Their dinner date was eventually discovered by the overprotective mother and she had sat in with them. Izaya immediately pouted but didn't do anything to impede her since he didn't want to make Mikado upset. After a while though, Izaya felt his stomach becoming unsettled due to her presence and excused himself to the bathroom. He hoped Celty wouldn't find out about their little travel plans as Mikado rarely kept anything secret from the mother hen. Thankfully, Mikado managed to keep quiet, though Izaya swore the Celty was on to them.

A month later, Izaya and Mikado sat side-by-side on the airplane's first class seats. Masaomi and his harem, along with a rather happy Shizuo, had seen the two off. Shinra had agreed to keep quiet about the trip, both father and son coming up with the lie to Celty that the underage student would be staying the weekend at Izaya's place. Celty never doubted their lie and she did agree in the end, with at least some hesitation. It was attributed to her obvious discomfort of having Izaya alone with Mikado for more than one night.

Hours later, they had finally arrived at their destination. The trip was going to be a short one, with barely any rest, as they had to travel a lot. Both plane rides, to and fro, plus the distance to their destination would leave them quite pooped in the end. But Mikado did want to go and Izaya did agree to take him. Celty texted them at some point but Mikado had initially warned her that he wanted alone time with Izaya so the woman never sent another message again for the remainder of the weekend. Both males had been scared that she would have found out about the trip and ended up sighing contently when Celty agreed to leave them alone.

"Do you want to be alone for a little while?" Izaya asked once Mikado set the flowers in front of the grave. The younger male didn't answer and simply took hold of the hand next to him with a tight grip. Bending down, the two started to pray. Mikado gave his thanks to the two for bringing him into the world and also for letting him meet all of his beloved people. Izaya simply thanked them for letting him have Mikado. After a short silence, Izaya turned his head and saw tears running down Mikado's face. He knew the boy felt something now that he came here and left him alone.

Then, quite suddenly, a message arrived on Izaya's phone, followed by another message on Mikado's phone. The two were taken off guard before Izaya's phone started to ring. It was Shinra calling him. Somehow, he already knew what was happening. "Oh, man! You have no idea how angry Celty is! She's already on her way to you guys! I'm not exactly sure how but, man is she angry! Good luck anyways!" With that, Shinra promptly hung up and Izaya turned to Mikado. The boy suddenly chuckled, a light smile on his lips. Izaya was in shock but managed to hold on to his phone.

"Maybe if we hurry, she won't find us here and we'll be able to escape her wrath until she gets back to Japan." Mikado spoke softly and Izaya smirked, liking his attitude. Grabbing him close, he pressed their lips together for the first time. Always with an excuse, Izaya said that they could keep it a secret since they were nowhere near Celty at the moment and it would give them a better remorseful look for when the woman found them. Hiding his smile, Mikado agreed and dashed off with Izaya once the man began to pull on his hand.

**End**

* * *

Sissy: I dunno, I just thought it was cute and rather stupid and kinda really plotless.


	36. Cut

**Title:** Cut  
**By:** Sissy

**Pairings:** mkan  
**Warnings:** T!chapter. Angsty, because I had the intention of not making this happy story.

* * *

She wanted to send a message.

It had started with an unknown event. Night had fallen and people made busy by heading out to the streets for a party. At times like these, it always becomes slightly dangerous to walk around on your own. But there that person was, by themselves, pondering on nonsensical things about their everyday life. Then, as it was obvious, there was an attack. It didn't make headline news or anything. It just happened and there wasn't anyone to witness it. But it would eventually be known to one particular person.

"Sonohara-san!" Mikado called out to the girl looking out the window and startled her. She had dozed off for a moment, thinking about something or other. Looking back at him with an apologetic look, she realized that almost everyone had left the classroom. "I didn't think the lesson today was that boring."

"Oh, no…" Anri tried to hide her flustered face before she answered him. "I was thinking about Kida-kun for a moment and got lost in thought…" When she looked up and saw Mikado, she noticed his tentative look and frowned at her insensitive self. Part of Mikado's face seemed sad about the subject and the other was worried.

Anri stood up to apologize but Mikado interrupted her. "Should we go then?" It was obvious to Anri that Mikado wanted to change the conversation. He never blamed her for thinking about his best friend but he didn't want to mull things over too much with her either. It was as if he kept some distance on purpose. Anri understood and nodded in agreement.

The walk out of the school was peaceful. Students were practicing in the back of the school but Anri and Mikado could still hear them. The two started talking about the homework they were given and Mikado told Anri about the lesson she missed while dozing off. He had done it subtly, offering his notes to her so that she could go over it later on.

"Oh? Anri-chan and Mikapuu? Hi guys! On your way home?" Erika stopped the two as she stepped out of the Russia Sushi with a happy Walker and Saburou. The two noticed Kyohei inside paying for the food the group had likely consumed.

"Yes. We were thinking of buying something at the supermarket first." Mikado answered her with a bright smile. Anri nodded in agreement but Erika and Walker stepped up to the two with a bright grin.

"That means you don't have anything else to do right now, right?" They both spoke at the same time while grabbing hold of their shoulders. Both Anri and Mikado were surprised and wondered what they two otakus were planning to do with them. Kyohei came out to see the mischievous pair and sighed. He nudged Saburou, asking why their driver and friend hadn't stopped the pair but the other didn't answer.

"Ah, well, we do have homework to do, Karisa-wa...wa!" Mikado started but was interrupted by the pair, who began to pull the two Raira students away. Kyohei and Saburou followed quickly behind them, hoping the otaku pair didn't cause too much trouble.

Reaching their usual street, the pair had forced the two students into a recognizable shop. Looking around confused, Anri and Mikado wondered for what reason had the pair brought them here. When they arrived at the counter, it became obvious. "Hello! These two want to buy the special edition too!" The pair spoke at the same time again.

"Karisawa-san, we don't need any of this!" Mikado startled to whisper to the older otaku, worried she might be planning on forcing him to buy something he couldn't afford with his money. The guy at the register had already sighed and turned around to look for the requested item, causing even Anri to become worried.

"Worry not, my young poor student! This is something we want so, of course, we'll be paying!" Erika gave him a wink and brought out the exact amount of money she knew they needed. "We just really want the extra so just smile and nod." Walker murmured back with a smile and the two students nodded somewhat confused.

When the man came back, he handed them the items after the students had "paid" and eyed the otaku pair suspiciously as the four exited the shop.

"How many does this make? You really should stop this, you two." Kyohei sighed once he saw the otaku pair with their new items again. Although they were confused, both Anri and Mikado realized that it had not been the first time the pair had done this and would probably not stop. "Sorry they made you do this. You can just ignore them next time."

"It's okay. It didn't even take that long." Mikado tried to assure them and Anri nodded, feeling the same way. When the students bid them farewell, they left the area with a smile. Now all they had to do was buy the food and head home.

The city noises in the background were easy enough on the ears while inside the supermarket. As the two walked around and made casual comments about which items would be better or perhaps even cheaper to buy, they found time passing by them quickly. Soon enough, it had started getting dark by the time they were out of the supermarket and Mikado offered to escort Anri home but the girl had declined, as usual.

"Well then, Sonohara-san, I'll see you tomorrow." Though he looked a bit dejected, Mikado still smiled like always to his friend and both parted ways. Anri had replied, "See you tomorrow." like always as well.

Anri arrived at her small apartment and put everything away before preparing herself something to eat. After a small dinner, she took a quick shower before setting herself down to study. Everything was like usual up to that point. Before she realized it, sleep had overcome her and she dozed off.

In the midst of her dreams, she saw the usual fictitious flashbacks and cruel flashbacks. One of them was of a bright past and the other a dark and red past. A past so red, it continued to infect her reality in the present. It seemed weird now to see this images, since she was no longer alone. But at the same thing, it frightened her as it only served to remind her how much different she really was.

Suddenly, she felt something weird. There was a loud thump in the distance. It wasn't a single beat. There was more than one. And a voice. Her voice. The endless words of love threatened to engulf her but she noticed something odd. It was almost as if they sounded...scared. But they were never afraid. It was as if they were about to lose something important.

Her eyes darted open, a small silence surrounding her before the whispers returned. They were normal again. "A dream?" Anri questioned herself and stretched before freezing in place. In the corner of her eye, she saw red. Her body temperature fell and she glanced to the window on her wall. The silhouette of a figure had disappeared and she quickly ran over to the window to open it. Looking down, she saw the dimly lit streets below but no one around.

Placing a hand on her chest, she tried to calm the quickening heartbeat. Once she was more calmed down, she put everything away and headed to bed. Sleep was not easy to obtain after that but before Anri realized it, the sun had begun to rise once more.

The few days that followed were the same as all the others, with the painfully obvious exception that Masaomi was no longer with them. What was different was that Mikado would often try to prolong their stay together after class with little success. It wasn't that Anri refused him. She would obviously enjoy her time with him, but it wasn't the same and the whispers of the demon blade worried her.

"Then, see you next week, Sonohara-san." Mikado said his usual goodbye and Anri was about to reply when she felt Mikado getting closer. Looking up, she saw that he had stopped his hand just above her shoulder before quickly retreating it with a reddened face. "O-oh! Sorry. See you later." The blue-eyed teen turned around and ran off, a slightly pale complexion adorning his face.

There was confusion in Anri's face then suddenly worry as Mikado had looked like Masaomi had before during the yellow-gang situation. He seemed as though something was worrying him. Looking down, Anri wondered how she could help him out without opening the wounds that Masaomi's departure had left.

As she turned around to leave, she felt the whispering voices scream out. She had to hold on to herself in order to not be overtaken. Something was wrong. The presence she had felt for the last few nights was near. She could feel it. Someone was watching her. Turning around, she saw a multitude of people, but no one in specific.

Then...she finally found it. The silhouette of a person with bright red eyes. Those eyes that belonged to only one type of being. A Saika child. And if it acted this way, it meant that it was either a child with a host that could control it or a child of the branched out child. When the silhouette began to retreat, Anri turned on her heel and began to chase after it.

Bumping into a few people on the way, Anri ended up losing the presence she had been tailing. Looking around the nearly empty streets, she pressed onwards searching for the one who had been watching her. Somehow, the presence felt familiar and Anri wondered if it had been the one she thought of. The crazed child who hated her existence.

"Or am I...going crazy myself…?" Anri wondered as she gave up and headed home. There was silence around her on the way home, but never on the inside. Then suddenly, she felt someone looking at her. When she looked up from the floor, she saw the figure again. As she thought, it had been that person. "Niekawa-sempai…"

"Evening brat." The voice was calm but Anri could pick up the hostility nonetheless. "It's a nice evening, isn't it? Perfect for a stroll."

Anri had her guard up while keeping silent. There was something that was bothering her about the older woman being here. Eventually, she decided to speak up. "Is there something you need with me, Niekawa-sempai?"

"Heh. Of course I need something, why else would I bother seeing someone I despise?" Niekawa Haruna turned around, showing her hands that she held together behind her back. There was nothing in them but Anri still had to be careful. She had never known this woman to be a simple walk-in-the-park kind of person. "I want to see you lose something important. I haven't been able to obtain Takashi back so I don't want you to be the only one happy."

"My friend is gone. He's left me. I've already lost something important." Anri held herself back, though the words she had already spoken hurt her.

Haruna chuckled bringing her hands forward to cover her mouth and hold her stomach. Then, she turned around again, a bright manic smile on her lips. "Not yet! You still have something important and I want to see you lose it!" Anri paled, realizing that this woman meant to harm the only other person she cared about.

As Anri contemplated how to stop the woman from attacking the person in her mind, her thoughts were interrupted by another presence. This presence was very similar to Haruna and she realized it must be the one who had been truly watching her recently. 'But, that could only mean...' Anri was terrified of looking back but eventually willed herself to slowly turn around.

Taking slow steps and looking at the ground while heading forward was the one person Anri feared for. As he looked up, Anri could already see the hollow red eyes and smile characteristic of the Saika children. Her body shook slightly as she could feel the fear overtaking her. She took a step back and remembered Haruna was behind her. With a quick glance, she saw Haruna's smile still in place.

"Sonohara-san…" The low voice called out to her and she looked back at him again. Noticing the small knife he now brandished in his hand, Anri realized what would happen next. "Won't you join us? We love you."

A shiver ran down her spine and Anri drew out Saika to protect herself from the incoming attack. The strength of each attack was the same like every other children so even if Mikado wasn't particularly known for his physical abilities, Anri still had to be careful. Not of her getting hurt, but of hurting him. Suddenly, she could hear Haruna chuckling behind her and knew she would only slowly get closer to the older woman.

Then she remembered. There was no time to despair; the terrible thing Haruna planned was already done. Anri couldn't reverse a Saika child being possessed. All she could do was let them live as usual as they could live their lives. But cutting Mikado was the last thing she wanted to do. The frail friendship she had with the teenager would break her heart. Then it was a given that the next best thing was all she could do.

Turning around, Anri lounged towards Haruna. There was no asking forgiveness this time. Haruna had gone too far. But Anri realized that something was wrong when the presence behind her was now to her right. With a smile still placed on his face, it was enough for Anri to try to move away but that only gave him enough space to get closer to her. "Sonohara-san, don't run away…"

"Why do this, Niekawa-sempai?" Anri asked but saw the wide grin in the woman's face and realized that there was no talking or reasoning with her. It was like talking to the endless voices that never responded well. So Anri did her best to avoid her only friend in order to reach Haruna. The moment she finally found another opening, she dove in again but this time Haruna avoided her.

When Anri turned to swing and the escaping Haruna, she met with the body of the one she wanted to avoid and found no time to retreat. Blood soaked through a bit of his clothes and Anri froze. "Pft! Haha! Hahahahahaha! You've cut him! You've definitely cut him! Isn't it a wonderful feeling? Having the one you love a part of you?" Haruna was enjoying the show now as Anri held her head in her arms, realization flowing into her.

As Haruna rambled on and on, Anri tried looking up but met with lifeless red eyes staring right at her. The new child was waiting for instructions but she didn't wish to give it any. Not this one. Not ever. It tilted its head every so often as Anri opened her eyes wide. Tears started to fall as she finally realized that the moment Haruna had cut him, her relationship with him had changed. Everything had.

"So, then, how do you feel?" Haruna had gotten closer to Anri, a small pocket knife lifted in the air in preparation for an attack.

But then Anri realized that Haruna meant to finally attack her directly, most likely hoping to control her in turn, and she turned to defend herself. When she saw Haruna, she noticed the woman had jumped backwards, escaping her attack. Taking slow steps backwards, Haruna spoke, "Well, I've done what I wanted to do. See ya!" and ran off while laughing loudly.

Anri lowered her hand and retreated Saika, dropping to the floor after feeling her body to be too heavy than usual. Mikado had bent down and pet her head, looking quite like a child calming something. Just that act caused her to let fall even more tears. "Mother...am I...a bother? Should I...hide away?"

Forcing every cell in her body not to scream at the new child, she shook her head. "Go home, please. Just...forget about tonight. Live your life normally." She almost pleaded and sensed he had nodded in return.

As he got up and began to walk away, he suddenly stopped and turned to Anri. "Mother…" The girl lifted her head to look at him and saw his bright smile. "I love you." He spoke before leaving the area.

Unable to move, Anri stayed on that floor for a long while.

"Sonohara-san!" Calling out to his friend, Mikado finally managed to break his friend out of her thoughts. Anri had deep circles in her eyes and she quickly apologized to Mikado. "You were out of it again. Ah...don't tell me…" Fearing she had been thinking of Masaomi again, Mikado looked slightly down.

"Oh! No, that's not it. I just...haven't been able to sleep well lately." Anri replied honestly though she could never tell him why she had problem sleeping. As they day's classes were finished, the two walked out of the school building like usual. Anri glanced every so often to Mikado, unsure of what to talk to him now.

When Mikado was the one to cut their time short, she almost tried to stop him but any further would have activated the child in him. She saw him meet up with someone she recognized and the two walked off. As she let out a soft sigh, Anri felt the same presence from last night. Looking around, she failed to see Haruna but realized something important. This whole event was a message from Haruna. It said, "I hate you." in so many forms that it scared her.

The moment she felt the despair engulfing her, she realized that there was someone hugging her. Looking up, she saw the same red eyes as the previous night, only they had a warmer feel to them. When he let go, he smiled and turned around to leave. The eyes were gone but the boy was blushing. He had no idea why he had just done that but felt embarrassed. "See you tomorrow, Sonohara-san!" Mikado said with a smile and ran off.

Anri waved him goodbye, letting a single teardrop fall before going home as well.

**End**

* * *

Sissy: Well, from the beginning, I thought that there wasn't many Mikado/Anri stories and thought about making one. But simply doing a happy story wouldn't do it, honestly. That, and I had the intention of adding Haruna from the beginning, so you know it can't end well. Haruna is still my favorite crazy character. Anyways, I'm still alive and going to do a request I've been ignoring (I'm sorry!). FF14 is fun tho.

Also, SECOND SEASON! The internet has exploded! :D


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